Ready and able? Professional awareness and responses to young carers in Switzerland

Abstract

Background: The situation of children, adolescents, young adults with caring responsibilities and their families has only recently been addressed in the Swiss context. Initial findings show a low level of awareness among professionals towards young people with caring responsibilities, and also a lack of specific support services nationally for young carers. This might suggest that the support needs of young carers and young adult carers are not currently being recognised or met in Switzerland. Aim: The purpose of this analysis was to explore to what degree young carers' needs for support are currently met by professionals. We evaluated how professionals in Switzerland currently support young carers in their occupational context; what kind of organisations they refer young carers to; and if the current support approaches meet international recommendations (drawn from research and policy in other countries). Methods: Data from a cross-sectional online survey completed by 2142 professionals from education, healthcare and social services in Switzerland were analysed. The data included respondents’ demographics, professional background, awareness of young carers’ situations and circumstances, ability to support young carers, referrals to other organisations, as well as approaches to support young carers. We conducted text analysis of the open-ended answers according to Kuckartz (2014) as well as descriptive statistical analysis and Chi-Square independence tests. Results: Just over half (55.8%) of the professionals in our study reported being able to support young carers. Five different categories of support interventions were identified: counselling; connecting with others; emotional support; including the family/network; and providing practical skills & illness-related knowledge. Professionals who reported that they themselves had a caring role when they were young were more likely to be able to support young carers (p