Rprt

Our unique study explores how carers are often inadequately considered during personalisation processes for service users, particularly, older people and those with learning disabilities.

This report presents the findings of a survey exploring the challenges of raising young children alongside supporting older parents or disabled family members.

Taking as its starting point the establishment of the Standing Commission on Carers in 2007 and the launch of the National Strategy for Carers in 2008, this article explores who carers are and how demographic changes are likely to impact on carer numbers. It deduces that the need for care is likely to rise significantly in the near future and as such carer numbers will grow. It argues that future policy must take this, and the importance of carers themselves being supported, into account.

Background: The balance of evidence about whether psychosocial interventions for caregivers of people with dementia could reduce carers' psychological morbidity and delay their relatives' institutionalisation is now widely regarded as moderately positive (Brodaty 2003; Spijker 2008). Multi-component, tailor-made psychosocial interventions are considered to be particularly promising (Brodaty 2003; Spijker 2008). These interventions involve multiple mechanisms of action.

Of the UK‟s approximately six million carers, around half are aged over 50. A recent survey of carers in England showed that people near or over retirement age undertake a high proportion of caring.

The aim of the programme was for sites to develop and enhance the local support available to carers and, where possible, to measure the quality and effectiveness of the new provision.

The aim of this study was not just to understand older people’s experiences of care transitions, but also to conduct the research in a way that would help to embed the findings in health and social care policy and practice.

This briefing paper draws attention to the experience of black and minority ethnic carers in the context of mainstream service provision and recent policy developments such as the National Carers Strategies, service user and carer involvement and the personalisation agenda. It acknowledges that marginalisation is often a consequence of lack of support for both carers and black and minority ethnic communities in health and social care. The paper highlights the diversity of carers from these ethnic backgrounds and the multifaceted impact of discrimination.