Themes:

• Practical support
• Wellbeing support
• Financial support
• Working whilst caring support

List of practical questions

• Please tell me a little about your caring role, including any areas you find particularly challenging?
  
  
• It’s also helpful to understand if there is anyone else in the household or close family, who is impacted by your caring role, including any children. If so, please tell me a little about them and in what ways they are affected?
  
  
• Looking to the future, please share any other care needs you haven’t mentioned that worry you?
  
  
• Please tell me about any help you receive that is working well? This might be from family, friends or local communities or organisations.
  
  
• Thinking about the person you care for, and all the people you speak to or email, do you feel respected and is your point of view valued in your caring role?
  
  
• What about the impact caring has on your physical health? This might be directly from caring tasks such as lifting someone or pushing a wheelchair, or it might be from a lack of time to look after your physical health. Can you tell me a bit about how your physical health is affected?
  
  
• Thinking of the home where you do most of your caring role, can you tell me about any specific challenges you need help with? These might be to do with the physical space available, including any home adaptations that may help. Or it may be due to other factors like keeping the home clean, tidy or warm.

List of wellbeing questions

• What about the impact caring has on your mental health. Please remember that this is a safe space and that everybody has mental health, just like we all have physical health. Has caring had a negative impact on how you're feeling?
  
  
  
• Caring can be lonely at times, so it’s important to check in on this. Do you ever experience loneliness?
  
  
• Are there any meaningful relationships or communities that help you feel connected and can you tell me a little about them?
  
  
• Our next question is around safety. It can be tricky to talk about this, but it's important we understand how safe you feel, in your caring role. This can be your physical or emotional safety. Has anything ever happened that has made you feel uncomfortable or scared?
  
  
• Do you feel you have enough control over your own daily life and the care provided? Can you give any examples.

List of working-related questions

• What about any work, education and training you’re involved with. Looking at what you currently do, but also what you would like to do. Please tell me a little about your situation and if caring is impacting this?
  
  
• I'd also like to ask you about the things you do for fun. How do you like to unwind, and does caring impact on your ability to do it?
  
  
• Are there any projects or causes that are important to you? And do you get to be as involved as you like?
  
  
• I'd now like to chat about the things that are important to you and you would like to achieve in your day-to-day life. Some examples other carers have shared include having a fulfilling career, quality time with family or friends, volunteering or time to walk the dog. What are the things you would like to achieve on a day to day basis and how does caring impact them?

List of money-related questions

• Moving onto finances. I know lots of people don't like to talk about money, but it would be really helpful if you could tell me a little about your financial situation. Are you coping financially, and do you have any concerns about affording to live on the income you have? 
  
  
• Do you have any financial worries for the future?
  
  
• Finally, thinking about the things we've discussed so far, is there a specific type of support that you think would be really helpful?