“Something that happens at home and stays at home”: An exploration of the lived experience of young carers in Western Australia

Abstract

There are approximately 350,000 young carers in Australia, yet their experience is not well understood. Young carers face adversities and disenfranchisement by being a young person in a caring role, and the role can affect other areas of their lives. We explored the lived experiences of young carers, aged 14-25 years (N = 13), from Western Australia through in-depth semi-structured interviews. A phenomenological approach was adopted. A thematic analysis of the transcribed interview data revealed four key themes. "Lessons from the experience" articulates the perceived benefits of the role and the themes: "navigating competing demands," "desire for normalcy" and "lost in the system" capture the struggles and complexities associated with being a young carer. Although there are challenges to being a young carer, it is something that young carers report can be beneficial and something that is done for those they love.

Outcomes for children who care for a parent with a severe illness or substance abuse

“…The few previous quantitative studies with measures of both positive and negative outcomes have indicated that children experience caregiving as more positive than negative (Joseph et al, 2009;Mechling, 2015;Pakenham et al, 2007;Shifren et al, 2014), which seems in line with qualitative studies showing that children overall experience the caregiving as positive (Heyman & Heyman, 2013;McDougall, O'Connor, & Howell, 2018;Nicholls, Patterson, McDonald, & Hulbert-Williams, 2016). If we further explore why some children experience caregiving as positive while others experience more negative outcomes, we may possibly be able to better identify children affected by parental illness and as young carers in need of interventions developed.…”

A Qualitative Exploration of Seriously Ill Patients’ Experiences of Goals of Care Discussions in Australian Hospital Settings

“…Authors 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, and 15 regularly discussed emerging themes and examples; any disagreements were resolved by consensus discussion, as per usual practice. 43,44 Quality Authors 1 and 2 led the analysis of the transcripts; the other authors contributed to interpretation. Nine coding categories were identified and from these, two over-arching themes and three sub-themes emerged (see Fig.…”

Psychosocial resources contributing to resilience in Austrian young carers—A study using photo novella

“…If these resources are available and adaptational systems function normally, resilience to developmental threats is expected to be common rather than exceptional or rare (Masten & Obradović, 2006). Nevertheless, much of the research on young carers to date has focused on elucidating the unique experiences and especially the characteristic challenges these young people face (McDougall et al, 2018;Metzing & Schnepp, 2008;Nigel et al, 2003).…”