ABSTRACT
Evaluating Community Care for Elderly People (ECCEP) is the most of a series of studies conducted around a distinct theoretical framework which has been developed at the PSSRU since the Unit's establishment at the University of Kent in 1974. This chapter describes the design and methods of ECCEP, and discusses the study's findings in a national context by comparing them with nationally representative data from surveys of older people living in the community. ECCEP is a 'classic' Production of Welfare study. The Kent Community Care Project (KCCP) was designed with the aim of improving equity and efficiency in social care by concentrating the authority and accountability for matching resources to users' and carers' need on care management teams. ECCEP's origins also lie in the early work of the PSSRU and its role in shaping social policy reform. While the PSSRU was conducting further care management projects following the initial success of the KCCP, other related research was also being undertaken.
