Informal Carers and Care Home Admissions: Implications for Social Work

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Investigating the Experiences of Informal Carers during Care Home Admissions for Older People: Implications for Social Work Practice

• IRAS ID

  208240

• Contact name

  A. Cooper

• Contact email

  MurrayAK@Cardiff.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Cardiff University Research and Innovation Services

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 8 months, 30 days

• Research summary

  A growing body of research contributes to understanding the support needs of informal carers at a time where an older person is admitted to a residential or nursing home setting (e.g. Gaugler et al. 1999; Ryan and Scullion 2000). By 'informal carer', I refer mainly to those family members (although sometimes close friends) of the older person who have provided care and support to that individual before admission to a care home takes place. The experience of assisting an older person to move into residential or nursing home care has been found to be extremely difficult for many informal carers, with feelings of distress sometimes persisting far beyond the initial move (Peck 1986).
  Bogo (1987) refers to the importance of "social work help" (p. 7) amongst informal carers during care home admissions for older people. However, a review of the literature reveals that little research attention has been directed towards either understanding the specific nature of the social work support offered to informal carers at this time or towards understanding the effectiveness of that help.

  This research aims to explore social work responses to the needs of informal carers during care home placements for older people. This study will:

  • Explore in greater detail, the role of informal carers in care home placements for older people; their experiences and needs at this time

  • Consider the provision of social work help during care home placement

  • Determine the effectiveness of the social work help and support provided

  Data will be gathered through narrative interviews with informal carers (concerning their experiences of care home placement); through observations of social workers and care managers as they support informal carers during care home admissions and through interviews undertaken with social workers and care managers regarding their placement related work.

• REC name

  Wales REC 3

• REC reference

  16/WA/0360

• Date of REC Opinion

  15 Nov 2016

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion