Voices from the Margins: Aotearoa/New Zealand Young Carers Reflect on Their Experiences

Lauren Donnan (), Janet S. Gaffney and Toni Bruce
Additional contact information
Lauren Donnan: Faculty of Arts, Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand
Janet S. Gaffney: School of Curriculum and Pedagogy, Faculty of Education and Social Work, Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand
Toni Bruce: School of Curriculum and Pedagogy, Faculty of Education and Social Work, Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 15, 1-20

Abstract: Young carers are a largely invisible and unsupported population of Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) children and youth aged 25 years and under who physically, emotionally, socially, and/or spiritually support loved ones experiencing ill health, disability, substance misuse, mental illness, or advanced age. The total number of young carers in NZ is unknown because census data only capture those aged 15–25. The nine published NZ studies recommend further research, policies, and services for young carers. However, there is a lack of young carer voices to inform their implementation. This paper provides insight into the experiences and needs of 28 young carers, the largest self-identified cohort in NZ research. Throughout phenomenographic interviews, young caring was described as a natural and valued part of being in a whānau/aiga/family, aimed at supporting their loved one’s holistic wellbeing. However, the overwhelming nature of caring without recognition or support resulted in poor educational, social, and mental health outcomes for young carers. This paper concludes with a contextualised NZ young carer definition and an urgent call to address the Carers’ Strategy Action Plan and listen to, and deliver on, young carers’ expressed needs.

Keywords: young carers; Aotearoa/New Zealand; culture; holistic wellbeing; hidden; overwhelm (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/15/6511/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/15/6511/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:15:p:6511-:d:1209426

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().