Young carers for AIDS-ill parents: social, health and educational impacts 2010-2013

Children who act as young carers for their AIDS-unwell parents or guardians are potentially highly vulnerable. They provide both domestic and emotional support, and often also need to provide intimate and medical care. However, the impact of being a young carer on children's wellbeing has not been widely investigated.
The 'Young Carers Project' is a collaboration between the University of Oxford, NGOs, and the South African Government, which aims to examine the impact of being a young carer on children's well-being. Face to face interviews (using measures validated in South African samples) will be conducted with approximately 3000 children (aged between10 and 18 years) in two South African provinces (the Western Cape and Mpumalanga). Children will be sampled from both rural and urban areas and data will be used to explore the mental health, physical health, educational, and social outcomes associated with being a young carer. Longitudinal follow up will investigate potential mechanisms through which caring for an unwell parent or guardian may impact upon child wellbeing.
The research will be conducted in close collaboration with the South African Government and NGOs, and findings from the study will be used to inform social policy decisions.