The policy drive to support carers is a longstanding national and international priority. Research about the design and delivery of support for carers is critical to the underpinning evidence base. Through a timely exploration of a third sector perspective, the UK-based study discussed in this article provides insights into approaches to, and the commissioning of, support for older carers and carers of people with dementia. The study highlights the importance of: embedding carers’ perspectives in service developments; the provision of both generic and targeted support which adopts a nuanced and tailored approach; titrating the delivery of information and advice at a pace to match carers’ needs; capturing quantitative and qualitative dimensions in service evaluation; and increased quantity and longevity of funding. Such insights not only complement existing research but are also generalisable to other countries at a similar stage in the development of carer support.

支持照顾者的政策推动是长期的国家和国际优先事项。关于为照顾者提供支持的设计和提供的研究对于支撑证据基础至关重要。通过及时探索第三部门的观点，本文讨论的英国研究提供了对老年护理人员和痴呆症患者护理人员的支持方法和委托的见解。该研究强调了以下方面的重要性： 将照顾者的观点纳入服务发展；提供通用和有针对性的支持，采用细致入微和量身定制的方法；以符合照顾者需求的速度调整信息和建议的提供；在服务评估中捕捉定量和定性维度；增加资金的数量和期限。