Séminaire SCALab 08/02/2024

Understanding and supporting Young Carers: Insights from French Healthcare Professionals

Young carers (YC) are children and adolescents who provide significant and regular assistance to a sick relative, often a parent or a sibling. This is a population still little known in France. Although many young people are faced with this situation, they are generally not identified as such by healthcare professionals, who mainly focus on their patients.

After discussing the characteristics, difficulties, and specific needs of young carers, as well as the evolution of French public policy awareness regarding them, this seminar will present a study conducted among healthcare professionals. The aim of this project, based on a mixed exploratory methodology, was to explore the knowledge, practices, and attitudes of healthcare professionals towards YCs.

Finally, an overview of ongoing and future projects related to this problematic will also be provided, highlighting the importance of continuing research to better understand and support this invisible population.