Estimating the prevalence of unpaid adult care over time

To help fulfil their responsibilities towards unpaid carers, service providers need some idea of the carer’s situation and how many might require support. This paper argues that estimating the prevalence of unpaid care across service planning and budgeting cycles provides a better indication of the size and composition of the carer population than estimates at a point in time. The number of adults providing care at any time during a year is estimated for typical catchments or organisational settings, including social services and primary health care. As well as focusing on carers who are heavily involved in their caring activities, variations in their psychological well-being are assessed to provide an indication of unmet needs for support.