Experiencing Socioeconomic Deprivation as a Carer in the United Kingdom: A Qualitative Study

Informal carers compose approximately 7% of the UK population and, through their unpaid care, they make important contributions to society and the health care industry. Being an informal carer is higher in people experiencing socioeconomic deprivation; however, no qualitative research has explored the impact of this on the ability to provide care for those with long-term conditions.

To explore the experiences and challenges of being a carer whilst experiencing socioeconomic deprivation.

Semi-structured one-to-one interviews with adults experiencing socioeconomic deprivation (n = 12) living in London and Sheffield, United Kingdom. Participants were recruited through social media and community channels. Data were managed in NVivo and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Three analytical themes were developed: (1) Economic insecurity including insecure housing and challenges with financial welfare leading to sacrificing the necessities such as healthy food, water and heating; (2) social and structural barriers such as a lack of opportunities for social mobility due to care impacting employment and educational attainment, as well as area-based barriers and feeling unheard by professionals; (3) the emotional challenges and rewards of being a carer such as managing people with poor mental well-being exacerbated by their socioeconomic situation, whilst finding their caring role meaningful.

Carers experiencing socioeconomic deprivation face additional challenges and barriers in their ability to provide care such as more emotional work, making sacrifices of necessities due to financial constraints and feeling unheard. Policy changes are needed to better support this population financially and to enable social mobility, as well as development of interventions and support resources for carers to use to feel empowered and to maintain good well-being.