Being Seen and Valued: The Recognition of Informal Caregivers in The Dutch Context

Abstract

Background: One in three Dutch people provides care to someone from their direct social environment with an illness or disability. One in ten of those informal caregivers feels overburdened. While the recognition of informal caregivers is mandated in local policy, little is known about how caregivers experience this recognition and how governmental initiatives relate to their well-being. Besides this, the role of municipalities in shaping recognition through policy remains underexplored. Drawing on Honneth’s theory of recognition and the concept of governing through community, this study investigates how different forms of recognition are perceived by informal caregivers. Research question: how do informal caregivers experience emotional, social, and legal recognition, and how can these experiences be understood in terms of governing through community? Methods: This mixed-methods study combined a quantitative survey with semi-structured interviews with informal caregivers and representatives from municipal support centres. The survey assessed emotional recognition from care receivers and the social network, legal and social recognition from municipalities, and caregiver well-being. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between forms of recognition and happiness. The qualitative data explored caregivers’ lived experiences of recognition and municipal perspectives on recognition programs. Results: Emotional recognition was strongly associated with caregiver well-being. Informal caregivers valued practical support and understanding more than verbal appreciation. Social recognition from municipalities, such as public tokens of appreciation, were appreciated and raised awareness, but were often perceived as symbolic when not accompanied by structural support. Legal recognition through financial compensation was appreciated but inconsistently available. Municipalities viewed recognition programs as helpful in identifying caregivers and raising awareness, but identified challenges in reaching diverse groups and ensuring equality across municipalities. Conclusion: recognition is a multi-layered concept and cannot be felt through symbolic gestures alone. While emotional recognition is central to caregiver well-being, structural and consistent support at the multiple levels is essential to truly experience recognition. Governing through community places significant responsibility on caregivers while offering limited support, leading to perceived contradictions in policy. Future policy should prioritize equal and structural forms of recognition across municipalities, and further research should include harder-to-reach caregiver populations and employ more detailed measures of well-being.