Older carers and involvement in research: why, what and when?

This briefing paper describes the views, experiences, motivations and plans of six older carers who decided to stay involved in research following their participation in a one year project at the University of Nottingham funded by Macmillan Cancer Support. The project was set up to study the experiences and main support needs of older carers looking after someone with advanced cancer and was designed to also encourage and facilitate the active involvement of carers in the research process (the support needs of older carers identified in the project are outlined in another briefing paper, ‘Improving support for older people looking after someone with advanced cancer’).