Abstract
Too many carers struggle in their caring role because they are not being reached by support services.
Experience over the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that well-designed online services can open up support to new groups of carers, helping them to thrive in their caring role.
This report summarises relevant existing evidence about providing online support for carers - both from the social care sector and from a wider ‘digital transformation’ background - and introduces new evidence from the experience of carers leads and support providers through the pandemic.
Where online tools have been used out of necessity during lockdown to replicate offline support of existing audiences, behaviours will likely revert to pre-pandemic norms.
However, the experience of many providers has been that the move to online support has opened up support to significant new audiences. Looking ahead, these groups (younger, and more digitally engaged) are likely to represent a larger proportion of carers over the next five to ten years.
Experience over the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that well-designed online services can open up support to new groups of carers, helping them to thrive in their caring role.
This report summarises relevant existing evidence about providing online support for carers - both from the social care sector and from a wider ‘digital transformation’ background - and introduces new evidence from the experience of carers leads and support providers through the pandemic.
Where online tools have been used out of necessity during lockdown to replicate offline support of existing audiences, behaviours will likely revert to pre-pandemic norms.
However, the experience of many providers has been that the move to online support has opened up support to significant new audiences. Looking ahead, these groups (younger, and more digitally engaged) are likely to represent a larger proportion of carers over the next five to ten years.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | London |
| Publisher | Mobilise Care Ltd |
| Number of pages | 46 |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Jul 2021 |
Research Groups and Themes
- SPS Centre for Research in Health and Social Care
- Ageing Futures
- Health and Wellbeing