eprintid: 10203084
rev_number: 7
eprint_status: archive
userid: 699
dir: disk0/10/20/30/84
datestamp: 2025-01-09 09:53:57
lastmod: 2025-01-09 09:53:57
status_changed: 2025-01-09 09:53:57
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
sword_depositor: 699
creators_name: Xue, Baowen
creators_name: Lacey, Rebecca
creators_name: Di Gessa, Giorgio
creators_name: McMunn, Anne
title: Do mental and physical health trajectories change around transitions into sandwich care? Results from the UK household longitudinal study
ispublished: inpress
divisions: UCL
divisions: B02
divisions: D12
divisions: G19
keywords: Sandwich carers; 
UK household longitudinal study; 
Health; 
Unpaid care
note: Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Royal Society for Public Health. This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
abstract: Objectives:
Sandwich carers provide care to ageing parents or older relatives while simultaneously raising dependent children. There has been little focus on how mental and physical health trajectories change around becoming a sandwich carer - a gap this study aims to fill.
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Study design:
Prospective longitudinal study.
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Methods:
We used 10 waves of data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (2009–2020) - a high-quality longitudinal data.
Sandwich carers were parents who lived with children under age 16 and took up unpaid care of a family member in the older generation. Sandwich carers were matched with parents who did not take up any adult care (i.e., non-sandwiched parents) with similar characteristics. We then employed piecewise growth curve modelling to model the trajectories in mental and physical health before, during and after becoming a sandwich carer and comparing these with non-sandwiched parents.
//
Results:
Among parents, the uptake of caring for a family member was associated with a deterioration in mental health, especially for those who spent more than 20 h per week caring for a family member. The deterioration persisted for several years. Those who cared intensively also experienced greater physical health declines during the transition. We did not see evidence of gender difference in the above associations.
//
Conclusions:
It is essential for society to recognise the unique needs and challenges of sandwich carers and provide them with the necessary support systems, resources, and community networks to ensure their health is maintained. Targeted support is required for sandwich carers who care intensively.
date: 2025-01-08
date_type: published
publisher: WB Saunders
official_url: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.001
oa_status: green
full_text_type: other
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 2347299
doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.001
lyricists_name: Di Gessa, Giorgio
lyricists_id: GDIGE00
actors_name: Di Gessa, Giorgio
actors_id: GDIGE00
actors_role: owner
funding_acknowledgements: ES/W001454/1 [Economic and Social Research Council]
full_text_status: public
publication: Public Health
issn: 0033-3506
citation:        Xue, Baowen;    Lacey, Rebecca;    Di Gessa, Giorgio;    McMunn, Anne;      (2025)    Do mental and physical health trajectories change around transitions into sandwich care? Results from the UK household longitudinal study.                   Public Health        10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.001 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.001>.    (In press).    Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10203084/1/1-s2.0-S0033350624004979-main.pdf