Care as part of everyday life
Our starting point is that care is part of being a human – everyone needs care whether as a baby or infant, in later life or at different points in between. Needing care is part of everyday life but it is often unrecognised, undervalued or seen as a ‘burden’. Independence is so highly valued that it makes it difficult for us to see the ways in which we are interdependent. Vulnerability and dependency are basic features of human life and it would be difficult for us to survive and develop without our relationships with others.
Our approach – known as ‘care ethics’ – not only recognises the importance and value of care but helps us ask important questions about how care is organized in society and who has responsibility to provide care. These are questions that have political and moral dimensions – from working out the ‘right thing to do’ at a personal level to bigger political decisions on how care should be funded.
We were involved in a project that used this approach to explore older people’s experiences of self-funded care. This project worked with older people in the community to develop the tools that we share with you on this site. You can find out more about this here
Care ... What do you need to know? 