Building on an initial qualitative study of the impact of dedicated young carer services (Phelps, 2017), this report presents the findings of a follow-up study to evaluate the impact on young carers of support they receive from those services (young carer projects).
The study focused on those impacts that had been identified in the initial research phase. A questionnaire was designed and trialed which included psychometric instruments to assess young carers’ general sense of well-being, their perceived stress, the positive and negative outcomes of their caring roles, as well as questions related to other outcomes identified in the initial research phase. The outcomes of young carers being supported by the projects were measured using this questionnaire.
Significance:
These findings are particularly significant to the identification, assessment and engagement of young carers with support services and how these services benefit young carers.
Headlines
When the young carers initially engaged with projects, over half had been caring for three or more years
Young carers reported generally positive outcomes across a range of domains after being supported by projects, but also at the start of their engagement with services
Almost a third of the young carers disengaged from their projects over the course of the study
Projects were important to young carers and enabled them to make many new friends, to have fun and to meet and talk with others
All the young carers who responded reported that they would recommend their young carer project to another young carer
There was a correlation between the number of hours of care undertaken by the young carers and how important their project was to them
Download: Phelps, D (2019), Supporting young carers: Evaluation of the Hampshire Young Carers Alliance (HYCA) – Impact on young carers. University of Winchester.
Citation: Phelps, D (2019), Supporting young carers: Evaluation of the Hampshire Young Carers Alliance (HYCA) – Impact on young carers. University of Winchester.