Research focus

Mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) developed by Jon Kabat‐Zinn has shown to assist carers cope with their stress when they feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of care.  The authors in this Cochrane review aimed to evaluate the evidence supporting the use of MBSR for reducing the psychological distress among carers looking after their family members with dementia.

This briefing summarises the findings of a study into whether there is a universal optimal time for people living with dementia to move to a care home. The research drew on the experiences of people living with dementia and family carers, as well as social workers and care home managers. It found that factors to consider include the wellbeing of the person living with dementia, the ability of family members to support them and the availability of suitable care home places.

This guidance is for commissioners, providers and others involved in the planning, shaping and delivery of support for young carers and young adult carers in transition, primarily in England. This guidance supplements the carers’ breaks guidance for adult carers. It will be of interest to commissioners within local authorities (including public health), and may be of interest to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and partners within both health and education such as GPs and schools.

• This report examines the ability of working carers to combine caring responsibilities with paid employment and the difference that employer support can make. The report focuses on employees and does not cover the self-employed.
• Three research questions are addressed: What are the challenges that working carers face? What forms of support do employers provide to working carers, and how does this vary across sectors and types of organisation? How do these forms of support benefit working carers and the organisations for which they work?

Carers NSW has been closely monitoring COVID-19 developments in NSW, the ongoing government response and the wide ranging impacts the virus and associated social distancing requirements have had on carers. Carers have experienced a variety of impacts, both in relation to the people they care for and in relation to their own health and overall wellbeing. Many carers provide care and support to people who are in higher risk categories, and many are in higher risk categories themselves due to age or an existing health condition.

As the peak non-government organisation for carers in NSW, Carers NSW has been closely monitoring related policy developments that may directly impact carers and the people they care for, and has been in continual contact with carers across the state to understand and respond to their changing support needs. This position statement draws on ongoing policy and media analysis, more than 50 carer case studies, and 5 consultations held with 30 carers and other stakeholders.

Carers UK carried out an online survey between 3rd April and 14th April 2020. A total of 5,047 carers and former carers responded to the survey. This included 4,830 current carers and 217 former carers. Compared to the carer population as a whole, respondents to this survey were more likely to be female and caring for a high number of hours every week. As not all respondents completed every question in the survey, a number of the figures given in this report, including those presented here, are based upon responses from fewer than 5,047 carers.

This report sets out the findings of a national survey undertaken by Family Carers Ireland between April 14th and May 5th 2020 which examined family carers’ experience of caring during the COVID-19 pandemic. The online survey was completed by 1,307 current family carers representing a range of caring situations – parents caring for children with a disability, those caring for an adult, carers of older people and those caring for multiple people. The survey was open to respondents 18 years and older.

New figures released for Carers Week (8th – 14th June 2020) show an estimated 4.5 million people in the UK have become unpaid carers as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is on top of the 9.1 million unpaid carers who were already caring before the outbreak, bringing the total to 13.6 million.

Persons in a situation of dependency, or independent but with deficiencies in their autonomy, have specific needs for a better management of their long-term care. New sensing technologies based on real-time location systems, mobile apps, the Internet-of-Things (IoT) paradigm and cloud systems can be used to collect and process information about their activity and their environment in a continuous and truthful way.