A participatory scoping study of experiences of unpaid care giving among members of the ‘sandwich generation’ in Greater Manchester communities
This project was funded by the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC) Applied Health and Care Research Group, a joint initiative between MAHSC and NIHR ARC-GM.
What were we trying to do?
People who care for both older and younger family members, often called the ‘sandwich generation’, do much of the unpaid caregiving in England.
This project contributed important knowledge about the experiences of sandwich generation carers. It aimed to unlock extra caring capacity for the NHS and future support for these carers and their communities.
Why was it important?
Sandwich generation carers are trying to balance competing expectations, needs, and demands which can negatively affect their health and wellbeing. Sandwich generation carers are often under-recognised and exist outside the usual support offered to carers.
Learning more about the challenges sandwich carers face was important to make sure their present and future health and wellbeing needs were being met. It was also important for the NHS because family care is an essential part of social and health care within Greater Manchester and nationally.
How did we do it?
We worked together with our diverse community partners across Greater Manchester to get in touch with sandwich generation carers and we had community conversations guided by our participants’ experiences. We built on the early findings from the conversations by also doing more detailed one-to-one interviews.
The study’s findings and recommendations added to the knowledge that’s available on sandwich generation carers. We also hope it will help provide better support for this under-recognised group, especially for people from Greater Manchester’s diverse communities.
Findings
Findings will be available in due course.
The research team
- Principal Investigator - Dr Susanne Langer (Manchester Metropolitan University)
- Dr Susanne Martikke, GMCVO, Manchester
- Prof Andrew Clark (University of Greenwich)
Who we worked with:
- Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisation (GMCVO)
- 10GM
- Gaddum
- The GM Older People’s Equality Panel
- Tameside, Oldham and Glossop Mind
Funding
This research project received an award of £35,365 from the 2024-2025 MAHSC Applied Health and Research Group.
Useful information
Contact information
Dr Susanne Langer
Senior Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University
s.langer@mmu.ac.uk