VIDEO: Camden Carers' effective approach to supporting unpaid carers to live healthier lives
We recently evaluated Camden Carers' innovative approach to supporting carers to live healthier lives: 'Health and Lifestyle Checks'. We loved discovering the positive impact and the effectiveness of HLCs and celebrate the Camden Council’s decision to further fund the HCL expansion with younger carers in Camden!
Unpaid carers experience many barriers to good health. In Camden, the Council fund the local carers service, Camden Carers, to provide health and lifestyle checks (HLCs). Over 3-6 months, each carer works with a health and wellbeing coach. Together, they identify opportunities to overcome the carer’s unique package of barriers to good health, changing their lifestyle and behaviours to work towards a personalised health goal.
Civil Society Consulting were recently commissioned to evaluate Camden Carers’ HLCs. Over the last three years, 560 carers have had a HLC. 88% accomplished or were well on their way to accomplishing their goal by the end of the 3-6 months, and the 12% that didn’t all still reported other positive effects.
Regardless of whether carers accomplished their health goals, they reported:
More awareness and better knowledge of their health
More resilience and self-worth
Better access to or relationship with other services
Less health anxiety
More pride and joy in caring role
Feelings of empowerment
Becoming energised or motivated
Therefore, what is impressive about HLCs is that they aren’t ‘pass or fail’: every carer that has a HLC benefits.
All of these positive outcomes for carers have a positive impact on the people being cared for, and on the wider community and local healthcare system. In our evaluation, we were thrilled to learn that even two years down the line, carers are still feeling the positive effects of their HLC: almost 90%!
Why are HLCs so effective?
Our evaluation sought to find out the ‘active ingredients’ that make HLCs so effective - for other charities and statutory health partners to understand. Our evaluation report identifies four key features of the HLC approach that are key to its success:
The first active ingredient is the technique: strength-based 1-to-1 coaching is an effective technique for developing new behaviours. Being strength-based means identifying each individual carer’s strengths and opportunities, and leveraging them to make lifestyle changes that work for them.
HLC coaches are both health experts and carers specialists. They have the authority to provide health information and advice but they also deeply understand the unique challenges carers face.
The HLCs work on the basis that health is holistic, and they are delivered from within the Camden Carers service so that carers can be supported with other aspects of their life that are affecting their health at the same time.
Delivery is relational, the coaches are approachable, and the appointment system is flexible.
Enhancing and expanding HLCs in Camden
Our evaluation also put forward some exciting ideas for how Camden Carers’ can enhance or expand their work, with the Council’s continued support, including reaching more younger carers, and encouraging carers to come back for multiple HLCs year on year, building up bigger lifestyle changes over time. Hats off to Camden Council for providing further funding to see some of these ideas realised, on the back of reading our evaluation report.
