Overview

This project extends the work from the Carers and time use project. This project has developed and piloted a diary based data collection tool which captures how unpaid carers of older people manage their time spent caring. The new tool, based on qualitative research, consultation with a panel of carers and pilot work with a sample of carers, shows promise to improve the information collected from carers in existing large-scale surveys. With the next phase of funding, we will apply the tool in the context of a new large scale survey - Healthy Ageing in Scotland (HAGIS). We will select a sample of participants who are caring for and/or supporting an older person from the HAGIS pilot, collect time use data, and, in collaboration with the HAGIS team, conduct analysis which links the time use data with the main HAGIS dataset. The results of this research will strengthen the evidence base for the design of policies to support informal carers, who play a vital role in meeting the long-term care needs of older people.