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Abstract
Unpaid carers who look after another member of their household (home-carers) have poorer mental health than the general population. The first COVID-19 national lockdown led to an increasing reliance on home-carers and we investigate the short- and longer-term impacts of lockdown on their mental health. Data from 9737 adult participants (aged 16+) from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (Understanding Society) were used to explore changes in 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) score between (a) pre-pandemic (2019) and early lockdowns (April 2020) and (b) early and later (July 2020) lockdowns. GHQ-12 scores among home-carers were higher pre-lockdown and increased more than for non-carers from 2019 to April 2020 with further increases for home-carers compared with non-carers between April and July. Compared with respondents caring for a spouse/partner, those caring for a child under 18 had a particularly marked increase in GHQ-12 score between 2019 and April, as did those caring for someone with a learning disability. Home-carers of children under 18 improved from April to July while those caring for adult children saw a marked worsening of their mental health. Home-carers with greater care burden saw larger increases in GHQ-12 score from 2019 to April and from April to July, and increases through both periods were greater for home-carers who had formal help prior to lockdown but then lost it. The mental health of home-carers deteriorated more during lockdown than non-carers. Policies that reinstate support for them and their care-recipients will benefit the health of both vulnerable groups.
Highlights
At the start of 2020 around 8.8 million adults in the UK were unpaid carers (Carers UK, 2019) supporting individuals, most commonly close family members, with disabilities, long-term health conditions, or needs related to old age
Based on longitudinal data from UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) annual interview and COVID-19 monthly web surveys, we focus on contemporaneous caring status during lockdown and compare the mental health of home-carers v. non-carers prepandemic and early (April) and later (July) in the first lockdown
Our results clearly demonstrate that the mental health of home-carers, which was already poor pre-pandemic (Cuijpers, 2005; Hirst, 2005; Pinquart & Sorensen, 2003; Schoenmakers et al, 2010; Schulz et al, 1995, 2020; Schulz & Sherwood, 2008; Shah et al, 2010; Smith et al, 2014; Stansfield et al, 2014), has been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and associated mitigation measures
Summary
At the start of 2020 around 8.8 million adults in the UK were unpaid carers (Carers UK, 2019) supporting individuals, most commonly close family members, with disabilities, long-term health conditions, or needs related to old age. On 23rd March 2020, the Prime Minister announced the ‘staying at home and away from others’ policy, with people only able to leave home for limited purposes (shopping for basic necessities, one form of daily exercise, medical need, or providing care or help for a vulnerable person) (UK Government, 2020; UK Government Cabinet Office, 2020). Many non-COVID-19 medical and social care services were withdrawn, cancelled, or changed from face-to-face to remote contact These restrictions led to an increasing reliance by those with disabilities or ill health on informal support, with home-carers taking a important role. Data from 9737 adult participants (aged 16+) from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (Understanding Society) were used to explore changes in 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) score between (a) pre-pandemic (2019) and early lockdowns (April 2020) and (b) early and later (July 2020) lockdowns. Policies that reinstate support for them and their care-recipients will benefit the health of both vulnerable groups
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