Access to health care for carers

The overall aim of the work was to inform the NHS Service Delivery and Organisation (SDO) R & D Programme about the theory and evidence on carers’ access to health care. The two key objectives were: • to examine the evidence from UK and international research (published and unpublished) in order to identify: – the problem s and barriers that carers experience in accessing health care services, and any associated issues relating to equity of access and level of unmet need – evidence of interventions designed to im prove carers’ access to health care services, and how these vary according to age and circum stances • to consult with key stakeholders with an interest in carers’ access to health care about the findings from the review and recom m endations for further research. The following report documents key themes from the literature review and consultation. I n addition, it presents a typology of barriers that carers encounter when accessing health care, and develops a m odel of access to health care specifically for carers. Detailed inform ation about the interventions reviewed can be found in the supplem entary report: Access to Health Care for Carers: I ntervention Evaluations.