The Loneliness of Caring During COVID-19: The CLIC-Carer symposium

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, informal carers experienced high levels of loneliness, social isolation and burden. The pandemic has exaggerated these negative impacts, and reinforced social and health inequities across regions.

Comparing Loneliness and Isolation in COVID-19 (CLIC) was an online global survey of over 20,000 respondents, including 5243 informal carers across 50 countries.

In this session, we will explore loneliness, social isolation, burden and coping strategies in caregivers of people with brain health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Programme

Speakers

Iracema Leroi, Geriatric Psychiatrist, Trinity College Dublin; GBHI Faculty

• Welcome and introduction

Roger O'Sullivan, Director of Ageing Research and Development, Institute of Public Health in Ireland; Visiting Professor, Ulster University

• What is loneliness and what is the CLIC study?

Yaohua Chen, Neurogeriatrician, Université de Lille; Atlantic Fellow 

• Factors associated to burden, loneliness, and social isolation in the CLIC-carer study

Miriam Galvin, Academic Researcher, Trinity College Dublin; Atlantic Fellow 

• Experiences of English-speaking carers: a qualitative analysis

Eimear McGlinchey, Researcher, Lecturer in Intellectual Disability, Trinity College Dublin; Atlantic Fellow 

Andrew Wormald, Research Fellow, Trinity College Dublin (TILDA)

• Loneliness, social isolation and carers burden among carers of adults with an intellectual disability

Panel

• Brian Lawlor, Deputy Executive Director, GBHI
• Stefania Illinca, Health Economist, European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research; Atlantic Fellow 
• Wendy Weidner, Research and Policy Project Lead, Alzheimer’s Disease International
• Nikki Dunne, Research Officer, Family Carers Ireland

Resources

• COVID-19-related loneliness and social isolation in caregivers of people with brain health challenges: The CLIC-Caregiver Global Survey