Qualitative evaluation of a young carers' initiative

Abstract

This focus of this article is a qualitative, evaluative study of three Crossroads young carers projects. Focus group discussions took place with 24 young people aged 11-16 years. Data were analysed using a thematic content analysis approach. The themes of the research were: experiences of being a young carer, peer support, opportunities for time out and purposeful activities. The personal characteristics of the participants give rise to a number of worrying conclusions, that relatively young people were found to be undertaking primary caring roles over long periods of time. However, the groups were found to provide opportunities for young carers to experience a positive environment, participate in purposeful activities and have the chance to develop new friendships. Nevertheless, the literature suggests that provision of such projects is inadequate and under-resourced, which may disadvantage further a group of young people who are known to come from lower income families.

Young carers: growing up with chronic illness in the family - a systematic review 2007-2017

“…Study findings also confirm that care is provided for chronically ill mothers in the majority of cases [5,15]; the results on this aspect vary between 67 and 75% [12,13,[16][17][18][19][20]. Apart from the mothers, it is often the grandmother who receives care from young carers, followed by chronically ill siblings.…”

“…In addition, the fact that some children are scaled down to their parents' illness and that the efforts they muster at home are not honored is a dramatic experience [22]. Their school friends are condescending towards them [18,30]. From the perspective of the children concerned, not only their friends but also their teachers lack awareness and respect for their particular circumstances [22].…”

“…A special form of closeness and affection is frequently expected from contact to people in similar situations [18,23,27,32]. In the children's opinion, the schools could play an important role in identifying such contacts and helping to form networks [34].…”

“…According to several studies, some young carers find it difficult to master their everyday life at school [5,13,15,18,21,25]. These children do not manage to combine their role in the family with the demands placed on them at school.…”

“…Some young carers are victims of bullying and harassment at school [18,21,26,29] and experience stigmatization [14] due to the diseases and psychological disorders of their ill family members. For some children, school is the place where they can forget about home, spend time with friends and be content about the free time gained [22].…”