A study of the impact that charitable support has on the mental health of carers in Jersey.

Informal carers are one of the most vulnerable groups in the world. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of charitable support on informal carers’ mental health. The aims were in conjunction with Mind Jersey’s ideas. This study aims to evaluate and explore whether charitable support is beneficial to informal carer mental health. This research aimed to reveal the benefits and importance of the Carer Support Service at Mind Jersey. Through the use of surveys and interviews (eight surveys and three interviews). The sample for the surveys was four females and four males, the four females were aged from forty-five to fifty-four and the four males were aged sixty-five plus. Within the research, there were three common themes that arose which were explored in the literature review section which were the carer’s narrative, the burden of care, and professional support. The results showed that Jersey informal carers that are involved with the Mind Jersey Carer Support Service are frustrated with the lack of support they receive from the local government and medical professionals. This relates to the stigma that the carers evidence they do feel which can affect mental health and well-being. It was also shown that they believe that Mind Jersey has supported and benefited them. It was found that there is a harmful relationship between stigma and mental health amongst informal caregivers (this includes being related to depression, anxiety, psychological distress, psychological well-being, psychological burden, and general mental health). There was also an association between a positive perception of caregiving and more hours of caregiver caregiving. The carers with more support felt less caregiver burden and the support program showed decreased symptoms of loneliness. The concluding thoughts were that the support that carers (informal) are given is crucial to the stability of their mental health and is significant to the quality of care they deliver as it greatly impacts them.