The Role of Carers in Society: Support, Challenges, and Evaluation

This essay explores the multifaceted roles of carers in society, differentiating between paid and unpaid caregiving responsibilities. It examines the vital support carers provide to families and the disadvantaged, while also highlighting the influences of gender, age, and health on their ability to perform their duties. The essay further investigates how society addresses the social, physical, psychological, and emotional needs of carers, and evaluates the effectiveness of social and financial support services available to both paid and unpaid carers, including government initiatives. The analysis underscores the challenges faced by carers and the importance of comprehensive support systems in ensuring their well-being and the continued provision of essential care services.

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Carers are people who take care of the disadvantaged members of a given society such as
the sick and mental disorder. These disadvantaged people may not only be family members, but
also neighbors and friends. Apart from taking care of the disadvantaged members, carers have
other responsibilities such as taking care of their young children (Williams et al., 2012. p.39).
Also, they visit medical centers on a regular basis, thus ensuring that they have good health.
Moreover, they are required to perform their roles in their respective workplaces. An unpaid
carer takes care of other people without getting paid (Bunn et al., 2012). Some of the examples
include taking care of your old parents as well as providing support to your neighbor. In contrast,
paid carers are paid for their caring roles. The main purpose of this essay is to explain unpaid and
paid carer in details.
Carers play some vital roles in society. First and foremost, paid and unpaid carer provide
support to families. Professional carers take care of the sick in families through guidance and
counselling (Hughes, Locock and Ziebland, 2013, p.80). Similarly, an unpaid carer provides
support to families through taking care of the sick family members and friends. Other than taking
care of the sick, paid and unpaid carers also ensure that the environment of the disadvantaged
people like the old age is clean. Moreover, carers provide basic needs to the disadvantaged
people. For example, they can buy food, clothes and other necessities for them. In addition, they
ensure that the disadvantaged members of a given society have achieved their respective goals.
This is attained by assisting them to build their skills in their field of choice such as
programming. Furthermore, carers enhances unity and cooperation in the society. Thus, members
assist each other without considering religion, race or the background in which one has come
from. For example, paid carers can take care of the disadvantaged people not necessarily from
their place of residence or location (Hughes, Locock and Ziebland, 2013, p.85). Last but not

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least, unpaid carers have played vital roles in reducing responsibilities of the National Health
Service (NHS). Therefore, the United Kingdom has saved a lot of money that could have been
allocated to caring roles. Other than the government, families have also saved a lot of money.
There exist differences between roles and responsibilities of paid and unpaid carers.
Firstly, paid carers are skilled while most unpaid carers are unskilled. For example, paid carers
help the sick to follow doctor’s prescription (Milne and Larkin, 2015, p.7). They also have good
communication skills, hence ensuring that the disadvantaged people have relevant information
about their condition. In addition, they offer basic treatment to those people who have mental
disorders and other problems. Moreover, they also have a certificate in courses related to
community care. In contrast, unpaid carers are rarely trained for their caring roles. Most of their
responsibilities and roles does not require skills. Their roles include cooking and feeding the
disadvantaged people (Norman and Purdam, 2013, p.18).
Apart from skills, most of the paid carers carry out their roles because of money rather
than love and care. However, unpaid carers carry out their roles with love and care. They have
affection to the disadvantaged members. Hence, unpaid carers are susceptible to risks related
with stress as they try to support their love ones. Moreover, carers’ assessment is evident in
unpaid carers than paid carers. For example, doctors can ask family members of the
disadvantaged about the condition of their sick member. In contrast, paid carers are rarely
assessed. Moreover, unpaid carers spent most of their time in caring roles while paid carers show
concern for a very short time more so when they are paid (Glendinning, Mitchell and Brooks,
2015, p.25).
However, there are influences that affect carers such as gender and age. Regarding
gender, male carers do not provide so much care to the female disadvantaged members of a

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given society. This is because you need to understand the needs of other people before taking
care of them. Women understand fully the needs of other women as compared to men. Besides,
they are some things that men cannot do to women as they are perceived to be superior in most
parts of the globe (Gray, 2010, p.355). For instance, it is not easy for men to prepare food for
women. Also, showering a person of another gender is not possible. Thus, gender stereotypes
influences unpaid carers and paid carers. However, gender stereotypes have less impacts on paid
carers.
Apart from gender, age is also another factor that influence carers. It influences both paid
and unpaid carer. Middle aged carers provide better services to the disadvantaged people like the
sick as compared to the old carers (Larkin and Milne, 2014, p.35). This is because the old carers
are vulnerable to mental disorders, hence interfering with caring roles. Moreover, health status
influences unpaid carers. Less healthy carers provide poor caring services to the disadvantaged
people as they not only focus on caring others, but also their own health. Thus, divided attention
affects caring roles. Furthermore, salary and better working environment influences paid carer.
Better salaries encourages them to be committed on their job. However, less salaried carers are
not only lazy, but also provide poor caring services (Pickard et al., 2015, p.570). These factors
influencing carer such as gender stereotypes and health status can affect both paid and unpaid
carers not only limited to psychological, but also physical and emotional.
However, there are different ways in which the society deals with social, physical,
psychological and emotional needs of carers. Regarding emotional needs, the members of a
given society understand feeling of carers while carrying out their responsibilities (Hemsley and
Balandin, 2014, p.330). Hence, they provide emotional support by respecting them. Also, they
give them time to relax. Moreover, the society has developed better communication skills, and

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hence solves issues peacefully without arguments. In addition, the society members also do not
take carers’ roles for granted but appreciating them for everything that they are undertaking.
However, it is very difficult for carers to effectively manage stress without social support from
the members of the society. Social needs of carers are met through showing them that they are
part of the society even if they come from other regions. Besides, society members also provide
social needs to carers by speaking to them from time to time concerning their views towards the
society at large, hence maintaining friendship (Jones et al. 2014, p.3). There is a link between
social and emotional support, hence indispensable. For instance, dealing with emotional needs of
the carers influences social support.
Regarding psychological needs, the society has played vital roles towards it by creating
better working environment for carers (Bunn et al., 2012). For instance, society members ensures
that the environment is kept clean and conducive. Also, they show care to carers. Better working
environment help carers to have positive attitude towards the society, hence reducing stress. Last
but not least, the society has also provided physical needs to carers. These needs include food,
shelter and clothing. For instance, society members have ensured that carers have enough food.
Also, they have built houses for them, hence making sure that they are comfortable. Apart from
housing, they also contribute money for buying of clothes (Bunn et al., 2012). They also provide
means of transport such as vehicles so that they can move swiftly from one place to another.
Concerning financial support, the government of England has ensured that unpaid carers
have received financial support. This has increased the number of people who take care of the
disadvantaged members of the society over the recent years (McLaughlin et al., 2011, p.2). Other
than England, the government of Wales has also given social and financial support to unpaid
carers. The government ensures that they have acquired necessary information that is vital to

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their daily activities. Other than financial support, carers are also trained to ensure that they
understand what they are expected to do. There is also some allowances that are allocated to
carers in England. Apart from unpaid carers, paid carers have also been supported through house
benefit and income support. These payment services have enhanced commitment of carers (Jones
et al. 2014, p.2).
In conclusion, the essay has explained some of the roles played by carers in the society
such as enhancing wellbeing of the less privileged people. An unpaid carer takes care of other
people without getting paid while paid carers are paid for their caring roles. One of the
differences between paid and unpaid carers is that paid carers are skilled while unpaid carers
may or may not be unskilled. The following are some factors that influence carers; gender
stereotypes and age. However, caring roles is very challenging. Therefore, the society members
have done their best to provide carers with emotional and physical needs. They show them love
and provide shelter to them. Apart from the society, the government of England and Wales have
also supported unpaid and paid carers. These support has led to the increase of the number of
carers over the recent years, hence enabling the government to save a lot of money for caring the
less privileged.

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