Time for care: exploring time use by carers of older people

Abstract

First paragraph: The contribution of carers, as 'people who provide support, in the context of familial or other prior affective relationships, to a person with long-term care needs, experiencing frailty in old age or with serious illness or disability' (Yeandle et al 2017:10), to the support and care of older people is recognised world wide, and researchers internationally are attempting to develop better understanding of its quantity and quality. This paper focuses on the temporal dimensions of what carers do. We take a critical perspective both on time and temporality, and on prevalent assumptions about care that are reproduced in research literature. We argue that the focus on time can be used to generate novel possibilities for research that learns from carers' experiences. As Milne and Larkin (2015) suggest is necessary, we draw on two traditions in care research: 'gathering and evaluation', which considers the quantity and nature of caring and evaluates policy and practice; and 'conceptualising and theorising' which is concerned with caring in its context, questions prevalent assumptions and critically examines established ideas.