On the show
The silver economy and who does the caring
Longer lives mean longer care. Much of that care is informal and unpaid, which makes it nearly invisible in official statistics.
Why it is hard to measure
- Formal eldercare is recorded. Informal care by family members largely is not.
- Long-term conditions are managed over decades, not treated once.
- Fiscal questions about pensions and health systems rest on assumptions about who will provide care.
- The people doing that caring are rarely asked directly what it costs them.
Questions only a conversation can ask
“Walk me through yesterday. Which parts of your day were caring for someone, and what did you set aside to do them?”
“What have you given up this year to keep caring — and what has come closest to making you stop?”
Where SamSurveyor fits
Reaching carers means reaching people with very little spare time. A short conversation they can complete on their own schedule, by email invitation into a web chat, asks less of them than a long form does.
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