Support for older male caregivers.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development and piloting of a supportive intervention to meet the needs of older male caregivers looking after a spouse/partner with a chronic long term condition: a feasibility study.
IRAS ID
220014
Contact name
Sonja McIlfatrick
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Ulster University
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
In Northern Ireland there are approximately 213,980 family caregivers and 42% of these are male. The health service has increasingly emphasised the importance of care in the community, however studies suggest that support for caregivers, particularly male caregivers, has not been very successful. Previous research suggests that the number of male caregivers is growing and that men may adapt differently to their caregiving role and often don’t ask for help until a crisis arises. This study aims to develop a programme that will support older male caregivers who are looking after their spouse/partner who has a chronic long term condition.
There will be four main parts to this study. Part 1 will review all the previous research in this area and gather information about how other community organisations are supporting male caregivers. Part 2 (to which this application relates) will explore the support needs and experience of male caregivers through interview discussions. During part 3 a support programme will be developed using the information gathered from previous parts. Finally part 4 of the study will use and test this programme on a group of older male caregivers. This will explore aspects such as how much they have learned and what difference they felt, if any, this programme has made to their knowledge about caring, coping with caring, and their sense of well-being. This information will be used to inform future support programmes for male caregivers.Funding for this study was provided by the Public Health Agency R & D Office.This application relates to Phase Two of the study (qualitative interviews).
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/WM/0119
Date of REC Opinion
26 Apr 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion