
Inequalities in Care
How does care and caring affect our lives?
Everyone’s lives will be touched by care and caring at some point. We’re interested in the ways that people and families are affected by the care that they provide or receive. This could be through the unpaid care they provide to loved ones, friends or neighbours; or as part of their jobs as a care worker.
- We’re interested in understanding the good and bad ways that people are affected in the important roles that they play for the most vulnerable in society. People are affected in many ways and every experience is unique. We want to understand the variety of care and caring experiences across a broad range of topics that are central to our lives, such as health and happiness, education and employment, and friendships and relationships.
- Our experiences of care also differ and are shaped by where we live and the stage of life we begin our caring journeys. Exploring the importance of place and time are therefore central to our understanding of the impact that care has on our lives.
- The way that social care is funded and provided also impact our lives. It means we need to understand how people find information about the support they can get, and how they provide or finance the care that they need. We need to understand how people can be better supported to make decisions about the care they need or provide, and the ways in which providers and employers can do their bit to make things better, too.
- We are also interested in understanding who needs care and the quality of care that is received. This will enable us to plan more effectively for the future and understand how care can be improved.
- Most importantly, we want to know what we can do to improve the situation for people and provide the evidence and tools that can support people to live the lives they choose.
Commentary on Inequalities in Care
Commentary pieces relating to Inequalities in Care team
Rachael Black draws together the discussions from the Future of Care North conference centring on the care workforce, including the changing nature of the role and the potential opportunities this could bring when encouraging people to join and remain in the sector.
Read More about The Future of Care Work?The Office for National Statistics (ONS) first estimates of unpaid care from Census 2021 have been released. As one of the Census topic leads, Dr Sophie John discusses the Census results and upcoming workplans on unpaid care.
Read More about Census 2021; How many unpaid carers are there in England and Wales?For the second commentary in our Transitions that Matter series, Robert Punton writes about his experience of transitioning into ‘invisibility’.
Read More about Transition into invisibilityIn this episode of the podcast we’re discussing the new EU Care Strategy, which was formally adopted by the European Commission in December 2022. Becky Driscoll, one of our Research Associates, is joined by guests Stecy Yghemonos (Eurocarers) and Zoe Hughes (Care Alliance Ireland).
Read More about Podcast- The EU Care Strategy: a watershed moment for unpaid carers and care workers across Europe?
Recent Publications
A selection of recent publications from the Inequalities in Care team.
Members
The Inequalities in Care team is led by Professor Matt Bennett at the University of Sheffield.