ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2024
The Digitalization of Social Care in England and Implications for Older, Unpaid Carers: Constructionist Thematic Analysis.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Patient and carer perceptions and experiences of technology-facilitated appointment reminders in healthcare: a scoping review.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA · 2026Article
- "I'm Not a Therapist-I Am a Streamer": An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Twitch Partners' Experience of Mental Health Within Their Communities.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGlobally, populations are aging, generating concerns about the sustainability of health and social care provision. In terms of the public provision of social care in particular, unpaid carers provide much of the support to people with disabilities and older people. In addition, there is an increased onus in many countries on digital transformation projects, in the hope that the digitalization of services can create efficiencies and savings in both costs and care labor. In England, the focus of this paper, the shift to digital services is also framed as a means to enhance choice and control for older unpaid carers, while being part of a broader offering that includes nondigital alternatives and support to mitigate digital exclusion.
objectiveThis study examines the impact of digitalization on older, unpaid carers-a group more likely to be both expected to engage digitally with services and at risk of digital exclusion-in England, focusing on their lived experiences in terms of caring and access to social care.
methodsWe used a constructionist approach to thematic analysis, where data from 48 older unpaid carers collected through focus groups were analyzed using thematic analysis, resulting in 4 prevailing themes.
resultsOur findings indicated that while unpaid carers largely acknowledge the benefits of digitalization, they also highlight several points of failure, whereby engagement with digital spaces is experienced as coercive and exacerbates feelings of exclusion. These are further worsened by government failures to address issues of connectivity, imposing additional financial burdens and complicating tasks such as benefit applications.
conclusionsIn this study, we have highlighted the need for greater involvement in shaping both policy and technological solutions, which in turn will be more inclusive and aligned to the aspirations and circumstances of older carers.
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