Mental health carers pandemic experience research wins ANZSWWER award
Associate Professor Melissa Petrakis, Caroline Walters
A research report exploring how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the experiences and wellbeing of carers who support people with mental health challenges has received the Australian and New Zealand Social Work and Welfare Education and Research (ANZSWWER) award for achievement in research at their recent 2023 symposium.
The report found that mental health service closures, changes and restrictions during the pandemic resulted in feelings of abandonment and increased psychological distress for carers, and a growing need for support for mental health consumers.
Family carers were found to have provided more hours and more complex support, many without financial, practical, social or emotional assistance. The additional stresses resulting from inadequate service and government support resulted in family carers feeling isolated, overwhelmed, distressed, financially vulnerable, fearful - and, in some cases, experiencing thoughts of suicide.
The research was led by Associate Professor Melissa Petrakis and PhD candidate Caroline Walters from the Social Work Innovation, Transformation and Collaboration in Health (SWITCH) research group in the Department of Social Work, in collaboration with the National Mental Health Consumer Carer Forum (NMHCCF) and funded by a grant from the National Mental Health Commission.
The research team conducted focus groups and online surveys with 174 family members, friends, carers and supporters from across Australia. Additionally, the team consulted priority populations of young people, aging people, LGBTQI+ community, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, CALD communities and veterans alongside people who could speak to the impacts of supporting people who experience AOD use, suicidal behaviour, and justice system challenges.
The authors made several short and long-term recommendations to the government, including creating 'carer peer navigator' roles in mental health services to support families, carers, and supporters and setting up suicide prevention services aimed at caregivers experiencing stress and distress.
The report was recognised in ANZSWWER’s Achievement in Research awards category focused on community education, community development, and/or social action by individuals or teams. The award specifically acknowledges collaborative efforts in community-based participatory action projects.
Associate Professor Petrakis said that she was delighted to see the team’s work acknowledged with the ANZSWWER award. “Carers are known to have poorer mental health than the general population and it was concerning but not surprising to learn that this was greatly exacerbated by the pandemic,” she said. “It is important for governments to listen to the lived and living expertise of people using services and their family members to enable more effective tailored solutions if we are to reform and reimagine services.”
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