Who cares
for the one
who cares?

Supporting Young Adult Family Caregivers in Full-Time Education for a Resilient Healthcare System

RCA MA SERVICE DESIGN 23/24 · IRP Team 24
Dewi Rachmandari  |  Ling Wu  |  Trisha Fernandes
Tutor: Alessio Franconi
01
“The simple act of caring is heroic.”

— Edward Albert

♥
02

Context

The Seen
and Unseen

£162B Unpaid carers
value
£153B NHS budget
35hrs /week avg
caring
50/50 chance by
your 50s
600K Young adult
carers 18-25
Seen
  • NHS overburdened
  • Insufficient funding
  • Patient-centric system
Unseen
  • Cultural expectations to care
  • Can't get Carer's Allowance if studying 21+ hrs
  • 3x more likely to be NEET
  • Grey area between healthcare and social care
03

Persona

Meet the superhero
in the system

Kay Jeannette, 21

Young adult caregiver & full-time law student. Cares for her chronically ill mother.

PAINS
Dual Life Time Poor Isolated
NEEDS
Support Respite Balance

“People accusing me of using caring as an excuse for not showing up so many times.”

Kay Jeannette persona illustration
04

Research

The geographically tied
yet off Radar 20s

Invisible Labour

Caring responsibilities are unseen by institutions and peers, leading to isolation.

Identity Conflict

Torn between being a student and being a caregiver, struggling with dual identity.

Geographic Anchor

Tied to a specific location near their care recipient, limiting social and academic life.

System Gaps

Fall through the cracks between NHS, social care, and education support systems.

Emotional Toll

Constant worry and guilt about care quality while managing personal development.

Hidden Community

Desire for peer connection but lack of spaces and time to find fellow carers.

12 Young Adult Caregivers · 5 NHS Workers · 5 Carer Organisation Managers · Desk research, hospital observations, YAC forum
05

Reframing

Free carers from the
overlapping care responsibility

AS-IS

Overly involved Loss of identity Sense of guilt
→ Service

HOW WE WANT

Space for growth Time to connect Existing support
How might we create moments of respite within young adult carers' daily routines?
06

Ideation

Ideation Journey

Ideation journey with 3 rounds 07

Introducing

Carerou

Watch the Video 08

The Service

Carerou transforms Carers' daily journeys
into moments of respite.

Carerou service overview with four features
🗺

Route Guide

Behaviour Change

🤝

Co-creation

Participatory Design

🏠

Care Corner

Indirect Support

🌐

Community

Engagement

09

Validation

Validating with Stakeholders

Validation results across 4 areas 10
Field research photos 11

Sustainability

Driven by Engaged Carers,
Owned by Community

Network diagram showing Carerou sustainability model 12

Vision

Service Roadmap

Short Term (1-2 yrs) Mid Term (2-5 yrs) Long Term (5-8 yrs)
Service Specific Pilot Mindful Routes & Care Corners in 2 boroughs. Build carer community through co-creation workshops. Expand to 10+ boroughs. Integrate with local council & NHS referral pathways. Launch digital companion app. National rollout. Embed in healthcare system as standard carer support. Self-sustaining community model.
Impact Milestones 50+ carers engaged. Partnerships with 3 local businesses & 2 carer charities. 500+ carers supported. Recognised by NHS as complementary service. Policy input. 5,000+ carers in network. Measurable reduction in carer burnout. Influence carer legislation.
Measurement Wellbeing surveys, route usage, workshop attendance, qualitative interviews. Longitudinal wellbeing data, retention rates, referral volume, carer satisfaction. System-level health outcomes, NEET reduction, economic impact analysis.
13

Constraints

Open Questions

Three constraint areas 14

Impact

Theory of Change

Carerou
  • Mindful routes
  • Care corners
  • Co-creation
→
Self
  • Moments of respite
  • Sense of identity
  • Emotional release
→
Space
  • Safe local spots
  • Visible carer presence
  • Community ownership
→
Neighbourhood
  • Local business ties
  • Mutual support
  • Carer-aware culture
→
Community
  • Peer networks
  • Shared resources
  • Collective voice
→
System
  • Policy influence
  • NHS integration
  • Resilient care system
15
Circular hypothesis flow diagram 16

Reflections

Learnings

Consider the level of design interjection

How much should we intervene in carers' lives? Respecting autonomy while offering meaningful support requires careful calibration of service touchpoints.

Beware: The system has seen and unseen players

Beyond the obvious stakeholders, informal networks, cultural norms, and policy gaps shape the caring experience in ways that are easy to overlook.

Balancing Bias

As designers, we brought assumptions about what carers need. Constant reflection and participatory methods helped us stay grounded in lived experience.

17

Process

Project Timeline

March
April
May
June
July
March
Desk research, scoping, NHS context mapping, initial interviews with carers & organisations.
April
Deep ethnographic research, hospital observations, YAC forum participation, persona development.
May
Insight synthesis, reframing, 3 ideation rounds, concept development, co-creation workshops with carers.
June
Prototyping mindful routes & care corners, stakeholder validation, exhibition pilot, service blueprint.
July
Final validation, sustainability model, theory of change, presentation & documentation.
18

References

References

References 19

Thank you

Dewi  ·  Ling  ·  Trisha

Carerou — RCA MA Service Design 23/24

20
1 / 20