Dr Stella Arakelyan leads on a seed project funded by the British Academy Early Career Researcher Network which seeks to co-develop need-based support strategies and/or assistive technologies to help older caregivers of people with multiple long-term conditions to live well. One in five adults in Scotland provides regular unpaid care to a person with ≥1 long-term condition(s). Nearly two-thirds of older unpaid carers (aged >60) have long-term conditions or a disability themselves, which put them at increased risk of poor health outcomes. These commonly result from practical challenges navigating fragmented services, managing multiple appointments and medications, reduced social connectedness, and struggles to cope with informal caregiving for people with multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs) who have complex care needs. Despite performing essential roles in the lives of people with MLTCs and economically contributing to UK society, there is limited needs-based support strategies or assistive technologies available specifically for this caregiver group. This collaborative and multi-disciplinary project aims to involve older carers (aged >60) with ≥1 long-term condition(s) who provide unpaid care to people with MLTCs to explore their experiences, key support requirements, and unmet needs and to co-develop potential need-based support strategies and/or assistive technologies that could improve quality of life and wellbeing of unpaid carers in the future. Image Image Publication date 27 Apr, 2023
