An Overview of Unpaid Caring in Older Age

This chapter will provide an introduction to the topic of unpaid caring and the increasing significance of older spouse carers in performing this role. It will begin with an overview of the incidence of unpaid caring both in the UK and around the world with particular reference to the experiences of older spouse carers and older carers more generally. There will then be a consideration of research on this issue. This will highlight the fragmentation in method and focus that has characterised research into both older age and unpaid caring, which has contributed to the neglect of older spouse carers and has undermined the full understanding of their experiences.