Recruiting via General Practices in Coventry, Rugby and Warwickshire, starting January 2021; taking expressions of interest now.

Care Companion is a unique online individually tailored resource, designed for informal carers who look after family and friends with long term or life limiting conditions. It has been developed by a team from Warwick Medical School together with a panel of carers to help individuals with caring responsibilities cope with ever-changing physical, emotional and social care needs.

With support from the NHS and local authorities in Coventry and Warwickshire, Care Companion has been available to local residents for over a year. It is funded by the NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) Programme, and aims to understand:

· how Care Companion is used by those involved in caring

· how it affects carer wellbeing

· whether it represents value-for-money to the NHS and Social Care

With support from local GP practices and the CRN, the study team are looking to recruit 200 carers across 12 GP practices from January 2021-June 2021. Carers, identified by their general practice, will be invited to join the study and register with Care Companion online.

Over a six-month period, carers will be asked to complete two sets of questionnaires assessing their well-being and quality of life and invited to participate in an interview about their experience of Care Companion, and what improvements might be made.

To express your interest in taking part in the study, please contact Aman Johal-Mann, contact details on back page.  For further information regarding the study please contact Julia Roscoe, Research Associate Unit of Academic Primary Care, University of Warwick, email J.Roscoe@warwick.ac.uk phone 02476 151885.The Care Companion online tool can be viewed at www.carecompanion.org.uk