British nursing index

Young carers provide a significant contribution to society in their caring role, which is in line with the UK Government's Big Society agenda. In contrast with their contribution to society, young carers have huge associated costs related to poor outcomes and the numbers that end up not in employment, education or training (NEET). Missing school due to caring responsibilities is likely to have affect future education and job prospects.

Every school nurse comes into contact with young carers but in many cases the child’s caring role will remain hidden. This article will provide the information that every school nurse needs to identify young carers and the risks to their health, education and wellbeing.

Analysis of the 2001 UK census found that 114,000 children aged five to 15 acted as informal carers for an adult with a chronic illness; 5,000 of them provided more than 50 hours of care each week. Concern has been rising for some years about the health and social consequences of being a young carer…

Objectives: A substantial number of children are involved in informal caregiving and make a significant contribution to health care delivery. While this places high levels of demand on their coping resources, there is some evidence that these children find benefit in their caring role. The Young Carers Perceived Stress Scale (YCPSS) (Early et al., 2006, J. Child Fam. Stud., 15, 169) identified a positive dimension of caring, which appears to have potential in terms of measuring benefit finding in this group.

Young caregivers of mentally ill parents are a vulnerable population. These vulnerabilities include risks for developmental issues, poor socialization, and poor school performance. The purpose of this background review of the literature is to explore the experiences of young caregivers of mentally ill parents and detect the gaps in the literature. The guiding research questions were: What is the experience of young caregivers of mentally ill parents? and What is the experience for those who witness or must assist their parent during a crisis?