‘No Young Carer Left Behind: A Two-Phased Study to Understand and Address the Needs of Young Carers from Rural and Urban Communities Before and During Covid-19‘

Author(s): Newman, Kristine; Chalmers, Heather; Berardini, Yana; Ze Yu Wang, Arthur; Stamatopoulos, Vivian; Lewis, Michelle
Publisher: Canadian Journal of Family and Youth
Year Published: 2022
Resource type: Peer Reviewed Research Article

Summary:

This article explores the needs of young carers in rural/remote communities to support community partner, the Young Caregivers Association, in their goal to expand their resources and support young carers in these communities. The study was conducted through two phases: first, a needs assessment through three focus groups was conducted with 20 young carers aged 12 to 25; and second, an animated video on emergency planning was developed in partnership with the Young Caregiver Association’s Youth Advisory Committee and evaluated through two focus groups with young carers aged 12-17 and 18-25. This study’s findings are organized through two phases: Phase 1 identified six themes (Internet Usage in Daily Life, Finding and Filtering Information, Concerns Related to Internet Use, Social and Mental Support, What Makes Caregiving More Challenging, and Designing Something to Make Caring Easier); and Phase 2 identified four themes (Responses to Emergencies, Awareness of Emergency Planning, Potential Impact on Planned Behaviour, and Considerations and Suggestions for Improvement).

Citation: Newman, K., Chalmers, H., Berardini, Y., Ze Yu Wang, A., Stamatopoulos, V., & Lewis, M. (2022). No Young Carer Left Behind: A Two-Phased Study to Understand and Address the Needs of Young Carers from Rural and Urban Communities Before and During Covid-19. Canadian Journal of Family and Youth / Le Journal Canadien de Famille et de La Jeunesse, 14(1), 124–145. https://doi.org/10.29173/cjfy29787

Keywords: Young carers; rural youth; urban youth, internet use; emergency
planning/preparedness

Where the data was collected: Canada