A group of researchers under the leadership of Dr John Rose and Dr Biza Kroese at the University of Birmingham was chosen by the Judith Trust to undertake research which might answer the question ‘What Makes a Good Carer’. The work was conducted with Dudley Primary Care Trust and South Staffordshire and Shropshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and in this way was able to cover a mix of areas – i.e. rural and urban – with varying provision, both residential and in community settings – and access to users of these services as well as others in the private and voluntary sector.
The work began and ended with the service users themselves and used the innovative technique of digital story-telling. Service users tell their stories which are then used in the research with staff and carers to illuminate the way they worked, and discuss how they felt and how practice might be improved. Click on the link below to watch these stories:
In addition, the emphasis the Judith Trust places on taking a gender perspective on its work led to a separate paper which is of importance in its own right indicating why users’ experience may be better or worse because of whether they are themselves male or female and whether they are being looked after by female or male carers.
An Easy Read version of the report was also produced by Louisa Gilpin – click here to download