Are you a carer? Exploring the hidden stories behind the role

In this mini-series we uncover the layered realities of caregiving, exploring the stories of how people become carers, what this means to them and why we should all be paying more attention to the issues they face in our healthcare system. The series has been created in collaboration with people with experience of caring for someone with a serious illness. They are just a few of the 12000 people who Carers UK estimate take on this role each day. 

Episodes:

• Episode 0 Introduction An introduction to the experiences, research and ideas that led to the creation of this mini-series 
• Episode 1 Can I call you a carer?  Explanations of how do you become a carer and what does it mean?’ 
• Episode 2 How care functions Exploring how care functions or not from the perspectives of people drawn into caring roles and what needs to change 
• Episode 3 Caught in a net-of-work What it is like to be caught in the net-of-work that caring so often involves? 
• Episode 4 Working the system Learning from carers how they find ways to work the system 
• Episode 5 Reflections and endings Reflections on the end of caring episodes and hear some final thoughts on the other themes in this mini series 

Bibliography   

Carers UK: https://www.carersuk.org/policy-and-research/key-facts-and-figures/ 

Tolkien, JRR. The Lord of the Rings. 1954 

Albom, M. Tuesdays with Morrie. 1997 ISBN: 0385484518 

Mol, Annemarie, Moser, Ingunn and Pols, Jeannette. Care in Practice: On Tinkering in Clinics, Homes and Farms, Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1515/transcript.9783839414477 

Credits 

This podcast miniseries is presented by Dr Sarah Yardley, Associate Professor in Palliative Medicine, Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Department, University College London. 

Sarah collaborated with Lucy, Patricia, Elizabeth, Shona, Catherine, Marion, Raj, Shania, Amrita and Martin to narrate the stories. Some words have been voiced by Sarah’s academic colleagues at the request of the contributors.  

Lewis Young, Anna de Wolf Evans Maria Christodoulou and Clara Harris edited and produced the miniseries. 

Image credit: Island of stability collage: by participants of the rewilding healthcare workshops hosted at Cody Dock (Laura Copsey x Sarah Yardley) 

This work forms part of a research fellowship with The Healthcare Improvement Studies (THIS) Institute. The fellowship was funded by the Health Foundation as part of a grant to the University of Cambridge supporting THIS Institute