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Seeromanie Harding and Ursula Read, King's College London, Michael Rosato, University of Ulster, Oaribile Molaodi and Alastair Leyland, University of Glasgow
(Project no. 04010058, previously 401005)
Women are more likely than men to experience financial penalties from informal care giving as they are more likely to be of working age and to withdraw from the labour market to undertake care (1-3). The impact on health appears to be mixed - there is some evidence for negative effects on mental health but less clear cut evidence of the impact on physical health (4). There have been few longitudinal studies, but those in the UK signal potential health benefits for carers (5).
In the last few decades, there has been a stark rise of women from some ethnic groups (e.g. African Caribbean and Indian women) in the labour market. There has also been a rise in the number of ethnic minority older people requiring care, partly due to ageing but also from higher levels of limiting long-term illness and associated disability. Caring for elderly relatives in their homes is still a cultural expectation for some groups (6), although there is evidence of a rise in care homes with a specific cultural focus. The increased strain among young UK-born ethnic minority women caring for dependent children and older relatives (7) may have negative consequences for their health and well being. In the 2001 Census, working age Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi men and women were much more likely to report care giving than their White counterparts. Women were more likely to report being a care giver, and this gender difference was largest for Scottish and Irish migrants. Among employed women, South Asians were far more likely to report care giving than other groups. In this beta testing project, we hypothesise health penalties from care giving for working age ethnic minority women, largest for South Asian origin women. For some ethnic groups support from their communities may buffer the negative impact.
Specifically we aim to examine
(a) Ethnic and gender differences in informal care giving and employment trajectories
(b) The impact of these trajectories on ethnic and gender differences in general health and limiting long term health
(c) The influence of other potential stressors on the caring-health relationship, such as having young children and elderly relatives living in the household, migrant status of household members, and socio-economic disadvantage
(d) The mediating effect of potential support gained from living in ethnically dense communities
We will use information for LS study members, household members and for neighbourhoods for LS members present at the 1991, 2001 and 2011 Censuses. Mixed models will examine the relationship between ethnic and gender differences in caring and health trajectories.
References:
1. Dahlberg L, Demack S, Bambra C. Age and gender of informal carers: A population-based study in the UK. Health Soc. Care Comm. 2007;15(5):439-45.
2. Heitmueller A, Inglis K. The earnings of informal carers: Wage differentials and opportunity costs. J. Health Econ. 2007;26(4):821-41.
3. Van Houtven CH, Coe NB, Skira MM. The effect of informal care on work and wages. J. Health Econ. 2013;32(1):240-52.
4. Vlachantoni A, Evandrou M, Falkingham J, Robards J. Informal care, health and mortality. Maturitas 2013;74(2):114-18.
5. O'Reilly D, Connolly S, Rosato M, Patterson C. Is caring associated with an increased risk of mortality? A longitudinal study. Soc. Sci. Med. 2008;67(8):1282-90.
6. Grewal I, Nazroo J, Bajekal M, Blane D, Lewis J. Influences on quality of life: A qualitative investigation of ethnic differences among older people in england. J Ethn Migr Stud 2004;30(4):737-61.
7. Puthussery S, Twamley K, Macfarlane A, Harding S, Ahmed S, Mirsky J. 'You need that loving tender care': Maternity care experiences and expectations of British-born ethnic minority women in the United Kingdom. J. Health Serv. Res. Policy 2010;15:156-62.