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Caring in Context: Development of a Family-Centred and Cross-Sectoral Framework to Support Young Carers
Marianne Frech1, Martin Nagl-Cupal2, Steffen Kaiser3
1Solothurner Spitäler AG, 4500 Solothurn, Switzerland.
Insights
Young carers face significant challenges due to fragmented support systems. This study introduces a family-centred framework to improve cross-sectoral recognition and coordination for better support.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Social Work
- Public Health
Background:
- Young carers, children and adolescents caring for ill family members, experience educational, health, and psychosocial challenges.
- Existing support models and tools inadequately address young carers' needs due to fragmented health, education, and social care systems.
- A gap persists between young carers' needs and available support structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and present a family-centred framework that spans health, education, and social care sectors for young carers.
- To bridge the gap between young carers' family contexts and cross-sectoral service structures.
- To enhance understanding and support for young carers through an integrated approach.
Main Methods:
- An iterative, empirically grounded development process based on two studies within a larger research project on young carers in Switzerland.
- Systematic synthesis of key themes, structural challenges, and support factors from empirical findings.
- Integration of findings into an overarching framework linking family contexts with cross-sectoral service structures.
Main Results:
- The Caring in Context Framework synthesizes empirical findings to understand and address young carers' situations.
- The framework extends the whole family approach to include a cross-sectoral dimension, linking family dynamics with service contexts.
- Sustainable support for young carers depends on their structural visibility and institutional recognition across all system levels.
Conclusions:
- The framework enhances conceptual clarity by integrating family-centred and cross-sectoral perspectives for young carers.
- It emphasizes adapting and coordinating existing structures rather than creating new services.
- Systematic recognition of young carers is crucial for coherent, sustainable, and inclusive support strategies.
Abstract:
Background/Objectives: Children and adolescents who care for family members with illness, disability, or mental health conditions face challenges across educational, health, and psychosocial domains. Although research and practice have developed conceptual models and assessment tools to better understand and address young carers' situations, a persistent gap remains between their needs and available support, reflecting structural fragmentation across health, education, and social care systems. To address this gap, this article presents the development of a family-centred framework spanning these sectors. Methods: The framework was developed through an iterative, empirically grounded process based on two studies within a larger research project on young carers in Switzerland. Key themes, structural challenges, and support-related factors were identified by systematically synthesising the findings of the two studies and integrated into an overarching framework linking young carers' family contexts with cross-sectoral service structures. Results: The Caring in Context Framework synthesises empirical findings into a coherent framework for understanding and addressing young carers' situations. By systematically extending the whole family approach to include a cross-sectoral dimension, it bridges relational family dynamics and structural service contexts. Sustainable support is conceptualised as dependent on the structural visibility and institutional recognition of young carers across all system levels, positioning identification and recognition as prerequisites for coordinated responses in research, policy, and practice. Conclusion: The framework advances conceptual clarity by integrating family-centred and cross-sectoral perspectives. Rather than creating new services, it emphasises adapting and coordinating existing structures while ensuring systematic recognition of young carers to support coherent, sustainable, and inclusive strategies.
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