Researching Unpaid Carers.
WCB is initiating research into the experiences of unpaid carers for people with vision impairments and of the people they support.
The purposes of the study are to discover what support is needed by unpaid carers supporting people with vision impairments and whether it is different from that of carers supporting people with other disabilities and conditions. We want also to find out how a carer aids the independence and wellbeing of the person they are supporting.
The researcher is Dr. Vanessa Webb, formerly Director of Wales Council of the Blind (WCB), who is now based in Swansea University. The research is supported by WCB and the Wales Rehabilitation Officers Forum is advising on the research design. When it is completed, it will inform a workshop about carers supporting people with vision impairments organised by WCB. It will also be the subject of reports to practitioners and policy makers.
We are looking for volunteers to agree to be interviewed. We would like to talk with both the v.i. person and the person who supports them. You might be partners, siblings or parent and adult son or daughter. Ideally we would like to interview people aged over 25 and under 75 who have used Wales-based services. The interviews will probably take about 45 minutes each. The interviews can be on-line, by phone or the researcher would come to your home area.
If we are lucky, there will be 20 pairs of volunteers coming forward whose experiences we can study and report back on. All identities and the contents of interviews will be confidential and will be anonymous in any report or presentation.
If you would like to know more about this and may be interested in taking part, you can contact WCB on 029 2047 3954 and they will send you an information sheet with further details.
Posted on the 22nd of January 2024