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Evaluating Practices That Foster Care Partnerships and Wellbeing Among Informal Carers and Long-term Care Workers
Sponsor: VU University of Amsterdam
Summary
WELL CARE aims to strengthen the supports available to informal carers and long-term care (LTC) workers for improving their resilience and mental wellbeing through care partnerships. The project consortium, lead by prof. Elizabeth Hanson (Linnaeus University) and consisting of six research organizations and nine national and European advocacy organizations, identifies good practices able to prevent or mitigate both occupational and non-occupational risks for informal carers' and LTC workers' resilience and mental wellbeing. On this basis, and under its Grant Agreement with the European Commission, the project team develops innovative solution prototypes, which will be transferable across different countries and contexts and guide stakeholders into the actual implementation in 5 European Union (EU) countries (Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden), where the LTC sector presents dissimilar characteristics. Finally, the investigators will exploit the data and evidence collected and generated by WELL CARE to analyze related EU and national policies, and to formulate action-oriented recommendations for policy makers and stakeholders. The current study protocol concerns the research activities within Work Package 3 of the project, particularly the activities during the Implementation and Evaluation Phase that runs from September 2026 until the end of 2027. During this phase the project team studies the results of local implementation partners' efforts who - building on the solution prototypes developed earlier in the WELL CARE project - develop and implement new supportive work and care practices. The investigators study the effects that implementing these practices brings about among participating caregivers in terms of mental wellbeing, resilience and care partnership dynamics, while also studying the implementation process itself to capture the processes, conditions and (organizational) contexts favorable to fostering care partnerships.
Official title: WELL CARE - Implementation and Evaluation Phase
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
450
Start Date
2027-01-01
Completion Date
2027-09-30
Last Updated
2026-07-16
Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Conditions
Interventions
Solution Prototype in Germany
Project partners are developing a digital educational program for informal carers, covering different phases of caregiving. In addition, a peer-to-peer support program will be developed following a train-the-trainer format. Activities also focus on securing structural funding and enabling broader rollout across the country.
Solution Prototype in Italy
Project partners are collaborating with a large long-term care provider to develop a process for the co-creation of care plans with informal carers. In addition, a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention is being developed in which informal carers and long-term care workers can participate jointly. These activities aim to improve communication and foster trusting relationships between these groups.
Solution Prototype in Slovenia
Project partners will work with the management of formal care institutions to provide leadership training focused on supporting informal carers' well-being and strengthening collaboration with them. In addition, workshops will be organized to enhance carers' skills, knowledge and self-care practices, alongside joint events to promote mutual understanding and collaboration between formal and informal carers. Community-level activities will also be implemented to increase recognition of carers and the value of care.
Solution Prototype in Sweden
Project partners are working across three sites with distinct areas of focus: (1) within respite care homes, fostering mutual support between informal carers and long-term care workers during the palliative phase and post-bereavement period; (2) within group homes for people living with disabilities, developing a person-centered model to strengthen mutual support and communication between informal carers and long-term care workers; and (3) strengthening support for informal carers during the waiting period for nursing home admission to reduce frustration, anxiety and stress.
Solution Prototype in the Netherlands
Project partners will work across two sites with distinct areas of focus: (1) in collaboration with a disability care provider, improving relationships, communication and coordination between informal carers and long-term care workers in group home settings; and (2) in collaboration with a long-term care provider and an umbrella organization of local citizen-led initiatives, exploring ways to improve coordination and mutual support around initiatives that support ageing in place and strengthen the supportive capacity of local communities for care recipients and their informal carers.
Locations (5)
Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz
Zittau, Germany
INRCA
Ancona, Italy
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Netherlands
University of Ljubljana
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Linneaus University
Kalmar, Sweden