Changing Care Needs in Times of Changing Contexts: Insights from the Experience of Adult Children in the UK during the Pandemic

Edward Pomeroy , University of St Andrews
Francesca F Fiori, University of Strathclyde

Informal caregivers – those who provide unpaid help to individuals who need support for a range of reasons, such as disability or old age – play a vital role in delivering health and social care to those in need. During the COVID-19 pandemic the demand for informal care increased considerably as formal care services became less accessible. The older adult population was particularly vulnerable and required further care and support, meaning that many adult children may have assumed a caregiving role to their parents. Despite their crucial role in supporting those in need, informal carers are often unrecognised and undervalued. Few studies have explored the effect of the pandemic on caregiving performed by adult children. Therefore, this study exploits data from the UKHLS Understanding Society (main and COVID-19 waves) and applies multinomial logistic regression models to investigate how adult children’s role in the provision of informal care changed compared to pre-pandemic times in the UK. The results reveal that the provision of informal care changed in the context of the pandemic and disproportionately impacted certain individuals. Older adults, women, and those working from home were among those who had the highest probability of providing more informal care to their elderly parents. This study highlights that policy should seek to recognise, value, and appropriately support the crucial role of informal carers by focusing on those most likely to take on the caregiving burden in times of need, especially as the UK moves towards an increasingly ageing population.

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 Presented in Session 99. Flash session Loneliness, Pandemic and Care