Young carers: studying and caring at the same time

Young carers: studying and caring at the same time

Alice de Boer and Ingrid van Tienen research the impact of the role of informal caregiver on the health and education of young adults. The aim of the research is to provide new insights into the characteristics of young adult carers, the problems they face and the support they need to combine study and care tasks. They hope to level the playing field for the academic career of students and to contribute to the creation of an inclusive and meaningful society.

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What is a Young carer?
Many young people in the Netherlands have a family member or friend who is chronically ill. Some of them combine their studies with caring for a family member or friend. On the one hand, it is quite possible that these young adult carers need to be relieved of their care duties so that they can complete their education optimally and within the given time. On the other hand, it is also plausible that the role of informal carer may greatly increase their sense of responsibility and thus also have positive outcomes.

The content of the study:
The Young Carers expertise lab is working with students to come up with ideas for interventions that can help to increase the resilience of informal carers. It will also be possible to determine whether the additional role of informal carer has a favourable or unfavourable effect on a student’s study career.

Collaboration of the research:
The study is being carried out in cooperation with the Sociaal Cultureel Planbureau (SCP), the Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA), Vilans, the Student Health Service of the University of Amsterdan (UvA) and in cooperation with other organisations within the care and education field. Due to the large consortium of participating organisations, the results will be of interest to local and national stakeholders. As part of the JOIN startimpuls programme, the lab is funded by the National Science Agenda.

Status
Completed research
Original language
English
Researchers
Alice de Boer, Ingrid van Tienen