Reframing unpaid care for Carers Trust
Unpaid care is one of the most common experiences in the UK with nearly one in ten of us caring for someone, yet it remains largely invisible. And these millions of people who care for someone close to them, often do so without recognition, support or even the language to fully describe what they do.
Working with Carers Trust, and supported by the Health Foundation and Oxfam GB, we set out to reframe how unpaid care is fundamentally understood – by the public, by policymakers, and crucially by carers themselves. The aim was to build long-term public support for investment in carers and the infrastructure that enables care to happen. This meant widening the number of people who engage with the issue and are willing to take action to hold government to account.
The work was shaped by a steering group of experts and advocates, and guided by unpaid carers. It explored the deep-rooted beliefs and values that shape how care is perceived – across gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and political view – and the barriers that prevent carers from being more visible, valued and supported.
The research combined discourse analysis, co-design, quantitative research and qualitative focus groups. It revealed that, although unpaid care is widely recognised as valuable, there are significant emotional and knowledge barriers that prevent people from viewing it as a priority for public investment. Many feel that caring is isolating and inevitable, and struggle to imagine how support or change could make a difference. However, the research found that showing tangible examples of good support and framing the issue specifically around fairness can help overcome this fatalism and build public support for change.
The project delivered two core outputs: a research report and a framing guide. Together, they offer a new way to talk about unpaid care: one that makes care visible and valued, shifts the narrative from isolation and inevitability to hope and shared responsibility, and calls for investment in the support and infrastructure that enable people to care well.
Carers Trust is now embedding the framing across its work and inviting others across the sector to do the same. If you are interested in testing the framing principles, please email uk.narratives@carers.org.
To download the framing guide or read the research report that underpins this guide and outlines our methodology and findings in more detail, visit https://carers.org/campaigning-for-change/changing-the-way-we-talk-about-care.