This project is a collaboration between academic researchers, carers and voluntary sector organisations across the UK. We know that family carers of people with intellectual disabilities, in addition to other carers, have experienced significant stress due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This may have a lasting impact on family carers. This project seeks to assess whether our online programme can help reduce this impact and support carers’ mental health.
We conducted focus group discussions (2021-2022) with our voluntary sector partners and family carers to understand what the pandemic was like for them and determine what could be done to help. We subsequently used the findings, together with input from our project advisory group (PAG), to directly inform our online programme.
The online programme has now been developed and we are currently (2023 -2025) assessing whether the programme, and the methods we use to assess it, are capable of bringing about improvements to carers’ mental health..