Purpose
This article uses care convoys as a theoretical framework to study care-related transitions.
Design/methodology/approach
Eight pairs of participants, consisting of a disabled person plus a carer/care worker, were interviewed (sixteen semi-structured interviews), with follow-up interviews with the disabled participants after two months (twenty-four interviews in total).
Findings
A thematic analysis was carried out. Three aspects of the care convoy model cast a critical lens on participant experiences: (1) whereas the convoy model suggests progression, disabled people were often blocked in their life course changes; (2) disabled participants had small convoys even at a relatively young age; (3) convoys were “decentred”, with people offering each other mutual support.
Research limitations/implications
Our contribution is to reflect on theory rather than data that can be generalised to a population. The dataset is limited in speaking to a small group of disabled people and carers/care workers in England. Looking at the life transitions of disabled people through the care convoy lens enables us to explore the ways in which implicit assumptions in the convoy model fit – and do not fit – the experiences of working age disabled people living in the community. Future research could consider whether our insights apply to projects with larger datasets and in different localities.