Male carers

Background: Men represent a growing proportion of unpaid family carers across Europe. Comparative studies have proposed male carers experience their caring role differently to females; men are less likely to avail of formal support services than women. Social ideas around masculinity have been linked to the help‐seeking behaviours of male carers, as well as men's attitudes around accessing formal support. More understanding about this role from the perspective of male carers is required.

The purpose of this study was to explore from a gender perspective how masculinities might be reworked into identities of care through men taking on the role of family caregiver. A qualitative method was adopted for this research. Twenty Chinese men in Hong Kong who were the main caregivers in their families were invited for in-depth interviews to understand their views on caring and their experiences as caregivers. We identified four types of male caregiver: (a) conforming caregivers, (b) traditional caregivers, (c) transitional caregivers, and (d) transforming caregivers.

Informal caregivers represent a significant proportion of the population. This can be a challenging role associated with adverse psychological outcomes. Gender can have important influences on choice of coping strategies; however, male caregivers have been a relatively understudied group in this regard. A systematic review of qualitative studies was conducted to synthesize research on male carer self-initiated coping strategies. A total of 16 studies met inclusion criteria for the current review.

In this paper, we present new insight into the ways in which carers of people with dementia make decisions in the context of seemingly declining autonomy and freedom associated with the condition. Our focus is on the ways in which carers reflect on decisions made in different temporal contexts (day-to-day, medium- and long term). Drawing on data and analysis from in-depth interviews with male informal carers of women with mild to moderate dementia living in the northwest of England, we outline how the decision-making process is dependent on the temporality of the decisions.