Published 15th December 2021 by

We know people looking after family members or friends receive help and support from people all around. This help might be, for example, a sister helping with shopping, a brother with general maintenance of the house/garden, sons helping take you to and from health appointments, neighbours popping in to say hello, and many other people doing lots of small things that help in every day informal caring.

But not enough is understood about what these people do to help and support you.

A team of researchers at Anglia Ruskin University are looking to find out more about this because they know that this help is important, and want to raise awareness about what these people do to help.

To do this, the researchers want to make sure they ask the right types of questions. To help do this, they would like to talk to you, and those that help you, about what they do to help you. So, if you have help from those around you, such as adult children/brother/sister/neighbours/friends and wider, we would like to talk to you and them. The key thing is that these people do things voluntarily that helps, and whose help you might miss.   This chat will be 30-minutes over the phone, with a £25 gift voucher as a thank you for your, and their time.

By doing so, you will help the team make sure they ask the right questions that will tell us more about how we can support you and those people who help you all the time.

If you would like to be involved email Dr Hilary Engward, Associate Professor Applied Social Sciences, at hilary.engward@aru.ac.uk