Making it work: a qualitative study of the work-care reconciliation strategies adopted by family carers in Ireland to sustain their caring role

Lafferty, Attracta; Phillips, Dominique; Fealy, Gerard; Paul, Gillian; Duffy, Clare; Dowling‐Hetherington, Linda; Fahy, Majella; Moloney, Breda; Kroll, Thilo

doi:10.1080/13668803.2022.2043826

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…In all four waves, carers reported that they gave up or cut down on paid employment because of their care responsibilities. Employment outside the home may have a protective effect on a carer's well‐being, easing financial pressures and enhancing self‐esteem; the social interaction that employment may provide may represent essential support to sustain the carer's capacity to care and be a significant contributor to well‐being (Hoff et al, 2014; Joseph & Joseph, 2019; Lafferty et al, 2022). The disproportionately low level of engagement in the paid workforce requires exploration to investigate whether there are particular barriers to employment for carers of older people with intellectual disability and the supports required to overcome any such barriers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health and well‐being of sibling carers of adults with an intellectual disability in Ireland: Four waves of data

Brennan

D’Eath

McCallion

et al. 2023

Brit J Learn Disabil

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BackgroundAs the life expectancy of people with intellectual disability increases, they may now outlive their parents or their parents' ability to continue to care. Siblings of adults with intellectual disability often succeed their parents as primary carers. Little is known about the health and well‐being of this important cohort of carers who will be both caring for and ageing alongside their brother or sister with intellectual disability. The Carer's Study within The Intellectual Disability Supplement to the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (IDS‐TILDA) provides a unique insight into the health and well‐being of family carers of older adults with intellectual disability including sibling carers in Ireland. This article reports on the findings from waves 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the IDS‐TILDA Carer's Study.MethodsThe IDS‐TILDA Carer's Study surveys family carers of older people (aged 40 years and older) with intellectual disability on a 3‐yearly cycle. The family carers complete a self‐administered, mixed‐methods questionnaire. The qualitative data are analysed thematically, and a descriptive analysis of the quantitative data is conducted using SPSS.FindingsIn each wave, sibling carers comprised a significant proportion of the Carer's Study participants: W1 58%; W2: 61.4%; W3: 76.7%; and W4: 45.8%. The siblings were predominantly female, not in paid employment and were caring without the support of a spouse or partner. Across the four waves, siblings reported good general health. However, a high prevalence of particular conditions including back pain, aching joints and stress was also reported, and in each wave, siblings reported feeling completely overwhelmed by their care responsibilities. Although sibling carers reported that they have considered the future, only a minority have progressed to action in this regard.ConclusionsThere is evidence of the strong relational and emotional commitment by the siblings to their brother or sister with intellectual disability. However, through the four waves of data, there was also evidence of physical, mental and financial toll. An urgent need exists to identify and engage with siblings to protect their well‐being as they provide care for an increasingly ageing sibling.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health and well‐being of sibling carers of adults with an intellectual disability in Ireland: Four waves of data

Brennan

D’Eath

McCallion

et al. 2023

Brit J Learn Disabil

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“…On a work level it is known that family stress originating from the caring role may also spill over to their work situation (Sadavoy et al, 2022). However informal carers tend to prioritize their caring role over their paid work role (Lafferty et al, 2022) Informal care provision also affects carers´ employment opportunities (Vos et al, 2022), with carers having high absence rates and lower work performance (Austin, & Heyes, 2022), which increases the risk for them to quit their jobs due to their caring situation (Pickard et al, 2017). Job satisfaction reportedly decreases over time when providing informal care while stress levels increase (Grünwald et al, 2020).…”

Section: Outcomes Of Informal Care Provisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To add to this new reality, during the pandemic many informal carers had to take on new care-related tasks and responsibilities that they did not carry out prior to the pandemic, due to the social distancing measures, quarantine and reduction of healthcare and support services (Lafferty et al, 2022). Informal carers often had to stay at home and also work from home in order to respect contingency measures.…”

Section: The Covid-19 Pandemic and Wkcsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When compared to other informal carers, WKCs were faced with a new reality where work responsibilities many times had to be carried out from home, or, for those who were not able to work from home, a new reality with more strenuous commuting to the workplace, higher sick leave due to the virus and strained workplaces with fewer employees and many times more work, leading to increased stress and negative mental health outcomes (Lafferty et al, 2022). The impact on work-life balance was especially challenging for women with young children who had to spend even more time in caring activities and/or housework, and many times combine this with full time work (Eurofound, 2020).…”

Section: The Covid-19 Pandemic and Wkcsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Combining paid work and care could also have a detrimental impact at a personal level, leading to increased caregiver burden and affecting both their physical and psychological health (Converso et al, 2020;Schwartz et al, 2020). On the other hand, to be able to maintain one's employment has the potential to help WKCs to get a break from their caring responsibilities, maintain their independence, improve their financial situation and to have a social network with their work colleagues (Lafferty, Phillips, Fealy, et al, 2022). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WKCs were reported to have suffered further negative consequences relating to their caring role, as a result of changes in work patterns, with more workers working from home, and therefore taking on new or more extensive patterns of informal care (Eurofound, 2020;Rodrigues et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Combining informal care with paid work: An exploration of working carers’ situation with regards to their health status, gendered patterns of care, support and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Vicente¹

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Working carers (WKCs) combine paid work with informal care. Little is known about this important group of carers, which is expected to increase in number due topopulation ageing and economic trends. WKCs are beneficial for society but thecombination of work and care roles has consequences for their social and financialcircumstances as well as their health. This thesis explores the caregiving situation ofWKCs. Study I was a scoping review of research on the challenges of and solutions for thecombination of paid work and care and the role of technologies in supportingWKCs. Results included a conceptual framework which identified high and/orcompeting demands as a key challenge solved by formal support. Web-based andcommunication technologies were seen to be a potential beneficial solution tosupport WKCs. Nevertheless, barriers existed in some instances, preventing theiroptimal use. Studies II and III were based on data from a 2018 survey of a stratified randomsample of the Swedish population. Study II described informal care provision andreceived support among Swedish female and male WKCs. Female compared tomale WKCs cared more often alone, with more intensity, experienced care as moredemanding while their ability to work was reduced to a greater extent. Study III determined the caregiving-related factors associated with WKCs’ reducedability to work and experience of caregiving as demanding. A key finding was thatpsychological stress and financial problems due to caregiving increased the odds ofboth experiencing caregiving as demanding and a reduced ability to work, whilefinding caregiving satisfying decreased the odds of both. Study IV was an interview study of WKCs’ experiences during the COVID-19pandemic. WKCs’ positive experiences included the delivery of support by distancevia digital technologies and more time with the care-recipient. Negative experiencesincluded the fear of becoming sick, new challenges at work, and the cancellation ofhome and community-based services for the care recipient. This thesis contributes new knowledge on the situation of WKCs in Sweden. Itsfindings have implications for how policy can more appropriately and effectivelyaddress WKCs’ needs and preferences for support and their combination of workand care roles.

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The Impact of the Pandemic on Health and Quality of Life of Informal Caregivers of Older People: Results from a Cross-National European Survey in an Age-Related Perspective

Socci,

Di Rosa,

Quattrini

et al. 2024

Applied Research Quality Life

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During the COVID-19 outbreak, the care services interruption/delay resulted in increased amount of care for informal caregivers of older people with long-term care needs. This study aimed at understanding how the Pandemic affected physical health, mental well-being and quality of life of older people’ informal caregivers of different ages and to what extent starting caregiving affected such life realms among new caregivers. An online survey was carried out in Winter 2020–2021 targeted to informal caregivers living in 16 European countries. A sub-sample of 848 adult (aged 18–64) was compared to another of 542 older (over 65) informal caregivers. People who started caring during the Pandemic were also identified and the impact of the Pandemic on the three life realms of this group were analysed separately by gender and age. The differences between the two groups of adult and older caregivers were estimated using logistic regression, adjusted for potential confounders. Analyses were repeated after propensity score matching. During the second Pandemic wave hitting Europe in Winter 2020-21, regardless of age, being female entailed a worsening in physical health, mental well-being and quality of life, in line with previous research Also new caregivers were mostly females and their physical health and quality of life were worsened by caregiving. Gender-specific work-life balance policies and measures are needed to support female working caregivers. More attention should be paid to older female caregivers through scheduled physical and mental health screenings and home visits. Future studies on the topic in a gender and intergenerational perspective are encouraged.

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Making it work: a qualitative study of the work-care reconciliation strategies adopted by family carers in Ireland to sustain their caring role

Cited by 7 publications

References 41 publications

Health and well‐being of sibling carers of adults with an intellectual disability in Ireland: Four waves of data

Health and well‐being of sibling carers of adults with an intellectual disability in Ireland: Four waves of data

Combining informal care with paid work: An exploration of working carers’ situation with regards to their health status, gendered patterns of care, support and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

The Impact of the Pandemic on Health and Quality of Life of Informal Caregivers of Older People: Results from a Cross-National European Survey in an Age-Related Perspective

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