Information about our research
What is the purpose of this research study?
The purpose of this study is to explore what you think about the caregiving role you provide. The survey will ask questions concerning the type of care you provide, the level of your recipient’s (family member’s) dependency and how you feel about it.
Why conduct research on caregivers?
The number of elderly and frail or people suffering from severe illnesses is increasing and as a result both private and NHS resources such as care homes and community support services are becoming over-stretched. This can compromise the level of adequate care being provided.
The reliance on family members to provide care is greater than ever. However caregivers often feel that providing care can have negative repercussions on all areas of their life.
- Psychological; feelings of being trapped, distressed and depressed.
- Familial; you may feel that in providing care for the recipient, you neglect other members of your immediate family (children, spouse).
- Social; there may be little free time available to enjoy the activities you like doing
- Professional; you may feel that providing care for your relative has affected the quality and rate of performance at work, or that you have had to compromise your career in order to provide care.
Such effects can reduce the quality of life for both you and your recipient. Subsequently this often deters family members from providing the optimum level of adequate care and potential family members providing care for a relative when it is required in the future. In such circumstances responsibility of care provision falls upon already over-stretched formal services.
So why do you continue to provide care?
There are positive aspects to family members providing care: -
- There maybe times when you enjoy caregiving, and feel a sense of fulfilment or strengthened bonds with the person you provide care for.
- The ratio of care between family caregivers and the recipient is often 1:1 or even 2:1, and care can therefore be of greater quality than formal resources where the ratio, in times of staff shortages, can be 1:8 i.e. one caregiver for every eight recipients.
- It has been reported in recent statistics that family caregivers can save the state and NHS 57 billion pounds per year (Carers UK, 2003).
You may continue caregiving out of a sense of obligation or duty; you may feel that the level of care you received when you were younger should be reciprocated.
There are many reasons why people continue to provide care, and reasons may change over time.
What does the research hope to achieve?
The research aims to find out more about the caregiving experience, both the positive and the negatives, and to examine factors associated with caregicing outcomes such as carer Quality of Life. This information can then be collated, analysed and reported to health and social care professionals involved in providing support for caregivers.
