| 180 the number of hours of care provided by informal caregivers (24). Limited financial access to social care services can increase carer burden, suggesting that access to social care services would decrease carer burden (25). Findings from an ethnographic study highlighted that caregivers felt relief when they had positive experiences with homecare whilst lack of services such as homecare services can lead to increased informal care burden (25-28). Befrienders or support groups for informal caregivers, often offered by the voluntary sector, showed mixed results about their effectiveness in reducing carer burden (29, 30). It has been well documented that informal caregivers experience an increase in burden in relation to accessing social care. According to Peel and Harding (31) informal caregivers feel they spend more time arranging care than providing informal care. The general satisfaction rate with social care is low, and there is mixed evidence on whether informal caregivers of people living with dementia are satisfied with the social care they receive (32, 33). A lack of social care satisfaction may not fulfil caregiver needs and these unmet needs are associated with carer burden (34). The inconsistent current evidence calls for more research to elucidate the potential role of social care in addressing carer burden, as carer burden can negatively affect the quality of life of the caregiver and the person living with dementia (35). This study examined the relationship between carer burden in dementia and social care from the perspective of informal caregivers and social care workers. Methods Study design This qualitative study was embedded in the Co-Designing Dementia Diagnosis and Post-Diagnostic Care (Cognisance) social care project. This study focuses on expanding the original Forward with Dementia website with an enhanced guide for the social care workforce, to help them best support people living with dementia and informal caregivers (36). To achieve this, semi-structured interviews were conducted with informal caregivers of people living with dementia and the social care workforce to identify and prioritise information needs and resource preferences. Findings are reported according to the COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research (COREQ) criteria (37).
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