Providing valuable insight into different communities’ expectations and associated responsibilities of caring across generations to inform future support provision.
Unpaid Caregiving in the Sandwich Generation
People with caring responsibilities for both older and younger family members, often called the ‘sandwich generation’, carry much of the brunt of unpaid caring. Initiated by GMCVO and being carried forward by 10GM, this joint project is being developed in collaboration with policy and practice experts, Manchester Metropolitan University, and the University of Greenwich. It contributes important knowledge about the experiences of sandwich generation carers, aiming to unlock additional caring capacity for the NHS and future support for these under-recognised carers and their communities.
A participatory scoping study of experiences of unpaid caregiving among members of the ‘sandwich generation’ in Greater Manchester’s communities
This exploratory pilot study aims to understand the experiences of caregiving among the sandwich generation, a group with care responsibilities for both members of the older and the younger generation. Although crucial, unpaid care providers are often overlooked in research, policy, and practice. The work will particularly focus on experiences of diverse groups within this category, answering the question: What are the caring experiences and challenges faced by the sandwich generation, and what support is needed?
Sandwich generation carers are trying to reconcile competing expectations, needs, and demands, which can negatively affect their health and well-being. Sandwich generation carers are often under-recognised and exist outside carer support provision. Learning more about the challenges sandwich carers face is important to address their present and future health and well-being needs. It is also important for the NHS because family care is an essential part of social and health care nationally and in Greater Manchester.
The project follows on from existing work
This project originated from Dr. Susanne Martikke’s collaborative work at GMCVO and is based on original research developed jointly with Susanne Langer from MMU and Andrew Clark from the University of Greenwich.
Building on established relationships with a wide range of Greater Manchester community groups, we have facilitated community conversations guided by participants’ experiences. Initial findings from these conversations will be further explored through one-to-one interviews. The study’s findings and recommendations will be shared at two impact events. The project will conclude with the publication of a final report, the development of academic papers and conference presentations, and an accessible graphic magazine. This work will create a solid evidence base, a tested research design, and pathways to impact that will inform future research funding bids and support.
Community engagement and participation are central to the project
We’re working collaboratively with our diverse community partners across Greater Manchester to enable effective engagement with sandwich generation carers. We’re conducting a series of six conversations in community organisations, drawing on the organisations’ knowledge of their communities for planning the format of these conversations to ensure that they take the needs of community members into account and for supporting recruitment of participants.
Participating groups will shape the content of these conversations. Arranging the conversations with existing community groups and, where appropriate, resourcing staff from these organisations to help with facilitating aims to build trust, strengthen connections between communities and research practice, support the community groups, and crucially help to reduce the demand on the participants’ limited resources, particularly in terms of time.
The project will advance the two missions of the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership strategy 2022-2028:
The project aims to strengthen our communities:
Identifying sandwich generation carers and making visible the multitude of taken-for-granted acts of care in Greater Manchester’s diverse communities.
Give recognition to the creativity and resilience demonstrated by sandwich carers and their communities to overcome the challenges of caring under conditions of limited resources.
Value the efforts made by communities, their members, and their organisations to bridge gaps in care provision and support and to sustain networks of mutual care across generations and geographical distances.
Enable diverse communities in Greater Manchester to make an impact in health and social care research and practice through research built on sustained community engagement and participation.
Supporting Our Workforce and Carers:
Extending the knowledge base about Greater Manchester’s sandwich generation carers is a precondition for designing support for them.
Sandwich generation carers are a group of under-recognised unpaid carers in Greater Manchester communities, and their identification has been identified as essential for the realisation of this mission.
Sandwich generation carers are predominantly working-age carers, and better knowledge of their experiences and challenges is essential to promote and support their workforce participation, with immediate and longer-term consequences for Greater Manchester’s economic, health, and social care positions.
How can I get involved?
For Sandwich Carers: Discussing Research Findings & Shaping Support in Greater Manchester
This event is for sandwich carers.
Join researchers from a team led by Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Greenwich, and 10GM to discuss the findings from their research on sandwich carers and help develop recommendations.
Thursday 1 May 2025, 10.00am to 1.00pm.
Supporting Sandwich Carers in Greater Manchester: Research Findings & Policy Workshop
This event is for representatives from voluntary and community organisations, policymakers, and professionals with experience in practice and/or planning in health and social care.
Join researchers from a team led by Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Greenwich, and 10GM to discuss the findings from their research on sandwich carers and help develop recommendations.
Thursday 1 May 2025, 2.00pm to 4.00pm.
Contact us
To connect to this work, get in touch with Dr Susanne Martikke, Research and Insight Manager at 10GM.
Find out more about our work
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Data and Intelligence
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Content last reviewed on 17 April 2025