Provision of informal care in England: exploring geographical and cultural associations and neighbourhood characteristics to inform policy

External collaborators

• Adriana Castelli, Centre for Health Economics, University of York
• Bernard Van Den Berg, Centre for Health Economics, University of York
• Rita Santos, Centre for Health Economics, University of York
• John Schofield, Department of Archaeology, University of York

Background

People, particularly disabled and frail older people, increasingly rely on families, friends and neighbours for help with daily activities. This help is often called informal or unpaid care. As a consequence of an ageing population, the number of people that will require help performing daily activities in England is set to more than double in the next thirty years.

Previous studies have found that the likelihood of unpaid caregiving varies across local authorities. In this small pilot study, we extended the analysis of geographic variations by studying what influences unpaid care at the level of neighbourhoods. In particular, we wanted to analyse the geographical/neighbourhood spillovers of caregiver’s behaviour, of cultural participation and governmental policies that may influence the provision of informal care at this level.

Our aims

The project:

• Identified determinants of caregiving behaviour, relevant policies and policy indicators, and other environmental factors, such as presence of social capital or cultural participation
• Collected and linked data from national and local sources
• Tested and validated the model
• We hope to build on the findings to develop a large scale proposal

Additional information