Mental capacity and personal finances: a qualitative study of assessment and support

Research questions What are (a) the legal, policy, professional and practice frameworks, and (b) the public information available to guide financial capacity assessments and support?

What are the experiences of social care professionals, older adults and their families of assessing and supporting people with diminished capacity in the management of their finances?

How fit-for-purpose are (a) the professional frameworks and (b) the public information available to guide financial capacity assessments and support? Background “Financial capacity” is the ability to manage personal finances.

It is one of the most important skills a person needs to be an independent member of society, but this is problematic because many people are financially illiterate.

It is particularly important for older adults, who in addition to managing day-to-day finances, are required to make major financial decisions associated with later life.

However, financial capacity is highly sensitive to changes in cognitive abilities, and these changes are stigmatised and often hidden by families. People with diminished financial capacity are vulnerable to financial abuse.

In England and Wales, the dominant legal framework to guide financial capacity assessment and support is the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

It is not clear how appropriate the Act is for assessments of financial capacity, what methods are used to assess financial capacity, or how professionals support someone with diminished financial capacity.

The importance of discussing personal finances is becoming increasingly recognised and publicised in society, but very little is known about how older adults and their families discuss personal finances and attempt to mitigate the challenges of declining financial capacity.

Aims & Objectives To produce an analysis of (a) legal, policy, professional and practice frameworks relating to financial capacity assessment and support; and of (b) information available to older adults and their families concerned about declining financial capacity.

To generate primary data and analysis about the experiences of social care professionals, older adults and their families of assessing financial capacity and supporting someone with diminished capacity in the management of their finances.

To synthesise the documentary analysis and primary research data, drawing on theoretical understandings of financial capacity.

This will allow us to critically examine the fitness-for-purpose of (a) the available frameworks and methods applied in practice, and (b) the information available to the public.

Methods Case study approach, in three work streams: WS1: Overview of policy, legislation, professional codes of conduct, and public information that guide financial capacity assessments and support; WS2: Qualitative interviews with social care professionals (n=40), older adults and families (n=5 dyads) focusing on their experiences assessing and supporting people with diminished capacity in the management of finances; WS3: Critical synthesis of findings from WS1 and WS2.

Timelines for delivery December 2020 - May 2022 Impact and dissemination report for social care directors and managers seminar for practitioners concise resource for older adults and families signposting to support for managing declining financial capacity lay summary for older adults academic journal articles: document review; main findings synthesis national conference presentations (academic and practice)