Work

Community pharmacies as a place for informal carer support in mental health and wellbeing

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: There are 5.3 million informal carers in the United Kingdom who take on caring responsibilities for family and friends. Informal carers can be forgotten patients within health and care services, yet because of carer burden, they are at risk of deterioration in health and wellbeing. There are higher levels of anxiety, depression, burnout and low self-esteem amongst carers but, to our knowledge work to date has mainly focused on supporting carers to provide better care for their family member, and less on carers' health and wellbeing. There is increasing interest in social prescribing as a method of linking patients with community-based services to improve health and wellbeing. Initiatives have included social prescribing via community pharmacies which are already recognized to be accessible for support and signposting. The coming together of community pharmacy services and social prescribing could represent a framework to better support carers in their mental health and wellbeing.

Source: International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy

DOI: 10.1007/s11096-023-01606-9

Authors: Charlotte Lucy Richardson, David Black, Laura Lindsey, Hamde Nazar

Institution: Newcastle University

Language: English

Topic: Pharmacy and Medical Practices

Subfield: Pharmacy

Field: Health Professions

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,690