Unreached - the impact of financial insecurity and socioeconomic deprivation in rural and urban areas

University of Southampton, Liverpool University

University of Southampton

Bills for food, heating, travel etc are even higher when people have a terminal illness or when they are approaching the end of life. We want to learn more about the experiences of people who struggle to make ends meet at the end of life on account of low incomes and those who are caring for them so that professionals can understand the impact and offer support if appropriate.

We will invite up to 60 people who are struggling to make ends meet living in a variety of towns and rural areas to take part. We will include people living with advanced and incurable illness, those who care for them, or who have supported someone who has died. We will ask participants to tell us more about their experiences including the difficulties they are facing, and how support from groups in their community, family or neighbours might have helped them as well as whether professionals have been of help to them on this subject – for example, suggesting sources of information and advice or practical aid.

We will draw this information together and use it to speak about what we have learned to different services and groups so they can help and improve their support if needed or make changes to policy. Our study has been developed in partnership with a diverse group of people who are living with severe illness and their family members and we will work with co-researchers who are patients or members of the public throughout the project.

Some of them will help with our interviews and in thinking through the implications of our findings. We are an experienced team who will be very sensitive to the difficulties of talking about money to outsiders and will be respectful and appreciative of their participation.