RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FEATURE
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64 per cent of respondents reported worsening mental health , while 58 per cent felt their physical health had deteriorated while supporting their friend or relative through 2020 .
Government policy is increasingly emphasising the importance of identifying and supporting informal carers , including a recent mention in the NHS Long Term Plan ( 2019 ).
It is certain that supporting carers is essential , both to ensure their health and wellbeing and to enable them to keep caring , if this is their wish . But where do occupational therapists fit in ?
I have been involved in research relating to carers since completing my Occupational Therapy MSc in January 2019 . Initially , this was not research specific to occupational therapy , but as time went by , I began to reflect on my own role in supporting carers within my clinical work .
As occupational therapists , we work closely with the friends and family of patients , listening to concerns , providing advice , arranging extra support and attempting to make the process of delivering care safer and easier – for example , through the provision of equipment .
It is not always formally stated as a part of our role , but I believe we play an important part in carer support .
I began to wonder whether research evidence reflected this . What research had already been done about occupational therapy and carers ? Had there been trials of occupational therapy-led interventions for carers ? Which ones seemed to work best ? Why ? How did carers and occupational therapists feel about taking part ?
To answer these questions , I applied for a Systematic Review Grant from the RCOT Research Foundation ; these awards are offered annually , with applications opening towards the end of the year ( see page 43 ).
Happily , I was successful . The grant offers up to £ 10,000 to complete a systematic review ; this has covered conference attendance , inter-library loans and salary expenses to work one day a week on the project for the last year , which I am very grateful for .
I have recently completed the review and submitted this to the British Journal of Occupational Therapy .
Through this project , I have discovered a great deal about the role occupational therapists play in supporting carers . I have also learned a lot about interventions – designing them , testing them , evaluating them , and reporting them .
I wanted to include studies from across the world , as a lot of relevant research has been done overseas in the US and Australia . I focused on the last decade , to help keep the review manageable , eventually covering 21 interventions described in 38 papers .
I found that most of the eligible interventions were for carers of people living with dementia , though I also found interventions aimed at other groups , for example the carers of people living with cancer , hip fractures , strokes and eating disorders .
Interventions would often be dyadic – with the occupational therapists assessing and supporting both patient and carer as a pair – and based within the patient ’ s own home . However , there were also interventions focused solely on the carer , including educational training programmes , instructional workshops and a six-session wellbeing intervention .
Individual components of interventions varied considerably , drawing on the flexibility and varied skill sets of occupational therapists , but common components included :
• assessment of carer needs and / or concerns ( via a variety of methods );
• goal setting and supported progression towards these ;
• education and skill training , including positive risk-taking , task supervision ,
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