Who cares?

Providing informal care for a loved one is becoming an increasingly shared experience for individuals. Informal carers are important players in ensuring that individuals in need of support continue to experience a good quality of life. Providing care for others can be rewarding, with carers often reporting increased closeness to the person cared for and giving new meaning and purpose to life. However, providing informal care often occur alongside employment, family and social life, and can therefore also be a stressful experience with potential adverse effect on the health and financial situation of the individual carer. Understanding what motivates others to provide informal care and how we best support carers, is a central part of ensuring future care provision. This talk was part of the Hope & Hops: the science of society event organised by NCRM, CPC and ADRC at the University of Southampton. This event was included in the the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2017. bit.ly/HopeAndHops