Caring During Lockdown
Challenges and opportunities for digitally supporting carers. A report on how digital technology can support carers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the course of the UK’s first Coronavirus Lockdown of 2020, the daily Mobilise Virtual Cuppas formed part of a research project with CIRCLE at the University of Sheffield and the University of Liverpool.
The research found that carers adapted quickly to the acute challenges of lockdown. They changed their routines, and developed coping strategies together that focused on humour, uplift and self care.
Carers summoned the strength to both receive and provide support to those in need; not just their loved ones, but others in their local community and in the online community.
The virtual cuppas enabled carers to share practical advice with each other, and create friendships. They became a digital space where carers could share their challenges and triumphs in all aspects of their lives.
Over time, the Mobilise virtual cuppas exceeded their capacity as a resource-sharing community and became a resource in its own right for developing individual resilience.
The Mobilise approach was also found to improve the digital literacy of carers, with many coming ‘online’ for the first time.
The study team made the following recommendations for central government, local authorities, and other organisations supporting carers:
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Invest in additional support for carers during national crises
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Invest in innovations and infrastructure that can keep carers connected to each other
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Develop digital literacy programmes for carers
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Create future digital support that can bridge analogue and digital communities and support networks
This report is just one in a series we have produced, take a look at all our reports.
Are you interested in working with Mobilise to extend the reach of your existing services? Register for updates or send us an enquiry to find out more about how we work with existing teams in Camden, Shropshire and Gloucestershire.
Meet the carers!
Watch our webinar to learn more
The study team and Mobilise discussed the findings, and their implications for commissioning carer support services at an online event on Friday 13th November 2020.
Watch the summary of findings and the panel discussion below. You can also download the slide deck.
Working with Mobilise
Mobilise works closely with local authorities and other organisations supporting carers across the United Kingdom to provide online carer support.