The 9 Wellbeing Domains Explained
Care Act Assessment Domains
The Care Act 2014 defines 9 wellbeing domains that shape every care assessment. This guide explains each domain, what assessors look for, and how to demonstrate need. Essential reading for social workers, care managers, and anyone preparing for assessment.
What's out there?
Generic care systems. Expensive enterprise software. Paper templates with no compliance checking.
None of them were designed for the way you actually work.
The 9 Care Act Wellbeing Domains
Everything you need to transform your care documentation
1. Personal Dignity
Treating the individual with respect. Assessment considers: privacy in personal care, respect for choices, maintaining identity and self-worth, and being treated as an individual rather than a condition or problem.
2. Physical and Mental Health
Health and emotional wellbeing. Assessment covers: managing health conditions, accessing healthcare, mental health needs, sensory impairments, and the emotional impact of care needs.
3. Protection from Abuse and Neglect
Safety and safeguarding. Assessment examines: risk of harm from others, self-neglect concerns, vulnerability to exploitation, and ability to keep safe without support.
4. Control Over Daily Life
Autonomy and independence. Assessment considers: making everyday choices, managing personal affairs, accessing information to make decisions, and maintaining independence.
5. Work, Education and Training
Participation and opportunity. Assessment covers: maintaining employment, accessing education, volunteering, and pursuing meaningful occupation or activities.
6. Social and Family Relationships
Connection and belonging. Assessment examines: maintaining family contact, friendships, avoiding isolation, and participating in social activities.
7. Suitability of Living Accommodation
Home environment. Assessment considers: whether housing meets needs, safety within the home, access issues, heating, and ability to maintain the home.
8. Contribution to Society
Meaningful participation. Assessment covers: community involvement, volunteering, supporting others, and feeling valued by society.
9. Domestic, Family and Personal Relationships
Caring responsibilities and relationships. Assessment examines: caring for dependents, maintaining relationships, parenting responsibilities, and relationship quality.
Understanding the Wellbeing Domains
Real challenges that care professionals face every day
How do assessors use the domains?
Each domain prompts specific questions about your needs. Assessors consider each domain to ensure nothing is missed. The domains are interconnected—difficulty in one often affects others.
Comprehensive assessment
What if my need doesn't fit neatly into one domain?
Needs often span multiple domains. A mobility issue might affect daily life control, housing suitability, social relationships, and work participation. Assessors document all impacts.
Holistic view
How do domains relate to eligibility?
The eligibility criteria ask whether needs prevent achieving specified outcomes. These outcomes directly map to the domains—inability to achieve outcomes across domains indicates significant need.
Links to support
Can domains help me prepare for assessment?
Yes. Think through each domain before assessment. What difficulties do you experience in each area? What support would help? What outcomes matter to you in each domain?
Better preparation
How do social workers document domain findings?
Modern assessment software like CareVoice includes templates covering all 9 domains. Voice capture helps practitioners record domain-specific information efficiently while maintaining person-centred focus.
Thorough documentation
Why do domains matter for support planning?
Support plans should address identified needs across relevant domains. The domains ensure support is holistic—not just personal care, but also wellbeing, relationships, and participation.
Complete support
Traditional Documentation vs CareVoice
See the difference in your daily workflow
Before CareVoice
- 2+ hours typing up assessment notes
- Manual safeguarding checks
- Generic templates requiring heavy editing
- Paper notes lost or illegible
- Inconsistent documentation quality
- Stressful CQC inspection prep
With CareVoice
- 30 minutes with voice-to-text
- AI flags concerns automatically
- Care Act compliant templates ready to use
- Secure digital storage with search
- Structured, professional reports every time
- Audit-ready documentation built-in
How Domains Guide Assessment
A simple approach to better documentation
Conversation About Your Life
The assessor has a conversation about your daily life, naturally covering all domains. This isn't a checklist—it's understanding your whole situation.
Person-centred
Identify Impacts Across Domains
As you discuss your needs, the assessor notes which wellbeing domains are affected. Most people have impacts across multiple domains.
Comprehensive
Understand Your Desired Outcomes
For each affected domain, what matters to you? What would good look like? The Care Act requires person-centred outcomes, not just service-driven solutions.
Your goals
Consider What Would Help
For each domain with identified needs, what support would make a difference? This includes formal services, community resources, equipment, or adaptations.
Solutions focus
Document Domain-by-Domain
The assessment record shows needs and desired outcomes across all relevant domains. This creates a complete picture for eligibility determination and support planning.
Full picture
Plan Support Holistically
Support planning addresses needs across all affected domains—not just the most obvious ones. Wellbeing requires attention to the whole person.
Joined-up support
Why the 9 Domains Framework Matters
What makes CareVoice the right choice for your documentation needs
Nothing Gets Missed
9 areas coveredThe domains create a comprehensive framework. Assessors systematically consider all aspects of wellbeing.
Person-Centred Assessment
Your prioritiesDomains focus on outcomes that matter to the person, not just services to provide.
Consistent Assessment
Standard frameworkEvery local authority uses the same domains. This creates consistency nationwide.
Legal Foundation
Legal requirementThe domains are embedded in Care Act 2014 legislation. Councils must consider wellbeing across all domains.
What Care Professionals Say
Real feedback from social workers and care teams using CareVoice
"This platform is a brilliant step forward for making care plans and assessments faster and easier. The design is clear, the process is streamlined, and it's exactly the kind of tool that can save time while keeping everything well-organised. I can see it making a real difference for field teams. Well done to the entire brilliant team behind CareVoice"
Harriette Nyuybinni
Domicillary Care Field supervisor
"CareVoice has empowered me as a social worker working with young children. It has streamlined my workflow and provided me with reliable assistance. The detailed analysis and suggestions I receive allow me to confidently delegate my assessments, freeing up my time. Most importantly, the service is affordable, offering great value for money."
Abuh Mowoh
Social Worker, Essex County Council
"As part of our quality assurance efforts, CareVoice has helped us not only ensure compliance but also maintain high standards in line with our regulatory requirements. I really appreciate the voice capture feature and the concept of using voice recognition technology to streamline assessments. This is a very forward-thinking approach that will enhance our processes significantly."
Runya Murape
Quality Assurance Manager
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Care Act Assessment Domains
The Care Act 2014 defines 9 wellbeing domains: (1) personal dignity, (2) physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing, (3) protection from abuse and neglect, (4) control over day-to-day life, (5) participation in work, education, training, (6) social and family relationships, (7) suitability of living accommodation, (8) contribution to society, and (9) domestic, family and personal relationships.
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Care Act Domain Assessment Tools
CareVoice helps social workers conduct thorough domain-based assessments.
- Templates covering all 9 wellbeing domains
- Voice capture for natural conversation
- Prompts for each domain area
- Outcome-focused documentation
- Eligibility decision support
- Person-centred record keeping
- Safeguarding Intelligence integration
- Support planning alignment
Domain-Based Assessment Support
CareVoice supports Care Act compliant assessment across England.
- All English local authorities
- Adult social care teams
- Hospital discharge assessments
- Community care teams
- NHS continuing healthcare
- Independent social work
- Commissioned assessment services
- Care management teams
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