Why It’s Important to Increase Caregivers’ Networks
Unpaid labour by family caregivers saves taxpayers about $30 billion annually, according to the CARP (Canadian Association of Retired Persons). But while caregivers are providing invaluable support to family members and other loved ones, society is not supporting them in return.
Numerous studies highlight the lack of support for caregivers, which impacts their ability to provide effective care for their loved ones, their family relationships, and their health and wellbeing.
In a survey conducted by Team CarePal in May, 2022, 21 out of 50 caregivers revealed that the strength of their relationships with their support network decreased from the beginning of their caregiving journey to the end-of-life stage.
In another study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, researchers found that family caregivers lost support from their personal networks throughout their caregiving journey.
When caregivers have the support they need, evidence conclusively shows that they fare better as carers and they are less likely to experience negative effects that can result from caregiving.
In some cases, these consequences can be dire. They include job loss, loss of self-esteem and self-worth, financial problems, depression and suicide.
Also, some caregivers who are overwhelmed with caregiving begin to abuse drugs. Both drug abuse and financial difficulties are known to contribute to caregiver abuse of elderly people.
Supporting Caregivers Creates a Stronger Society
We tend to see helping caregivers as just that. The reality is that supporting family caregivers benefits entire families. Many caregivers admit to compromising close relationships — including their own families — to care for an elderly loved one.
Also, research shows that at the end-of-life stage families experience overwhelm. When this happens, it can cause a breakdown in communication between the person being cared for and the medical staff. A more robust support network for the caregiver could help to prevent this from happening.
Providing caregiver assistance also alleviates burden on the healthcare system. Most seniors in Canada live with at least two chronic illnesses. Timely, effective care reduces the dependence of elderly loved ones on hospital or emergency care, for instance.
Furthermore, better support networks means that caregivers themselves are less vulnerable to health consequences of providing care, such as high stress levels, cardiovascular disease and mental health disorders.
In that same study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, caregivers with high levels of burden at the start of their caregiving journey who lost support said their health worsened.
The loss of health was especially the case for women and men who had a strong sense of duty about providing care.
Governments also benefit from caregiver support. In the future, they will face less of an economic burden if caregivers are not constantly faced with having to work less or quit their jobs entirely. Without well-paid employment, caregivers may need to depend on more government programs when they become seniors.
Proper caregiver support also passes on the value of supporting elderly loved ones, especially when they are most vulnerable. It helps to entrench the right for seniors to maintain their dignity, which can help to reduce elder abuse and abandonment.
It teaches society, especially younger people to not “other” older citizens, which, as shown here, can perpetuate a wide range of social problems which successive governments and generations inevitably have to manage.
Reliable Resources as a Part of Caregiver Support
Trusted sources that can provide information are also vital to a caregivers’ network. Yet, the Team CarePal survey revealed that the most common source of information for caregivers was Google.
Twelve out of 50 respondents relied on the search engine, while Facebook groups came in a distant second with four out of 50 caregivers citing it as their source for information and support.
Addressing Stigma
Collectively supporting caregivers will also go a long way to removing the stigma around caregiving. Inevitably, this stigma leads many caregivers to suffer in silence.
Just as many communities are ramping up age-friendly initiatives to support seniors, it provides an opportunity to do the same for caregivers. In fact, it makes sense in many cases to champion both of them together.
Getting Ready for A Large Senior Population
When we acknowledge and understand the challenges that caregivers face and recognize their need for support, we are also preparing ourselves for a future dominated by people over age 65.
In a sense, continuing not to acknowledge or address how society must change in order to cope with a rapidly aging society goes hand in hand with not recognizing the challenges caregivers face.
By 2030, Canada will be home to 9.5 million seniors over age 65. That’s nearly one-quarter of the population. Furthermore, life expectancy as of 2036 will be 86.2 years, compared to 84.2 today, according to the Government of Canada Action for Seniors Report.
It’s no surprise then that if governments are not actively working on a national strategy for seniors, the plight of caregivers gets the short shrift year after year.
How to Build a Strong Caregiver Network
So, what can you as a caregiver do? Although our survey revealed that most caregivers need more assistance, there has never been a better time to create a supportive personal network. Try these strategies to start building yours today.
Join a support group. You can find more support groups today than ever before, including those specifically for caregivers. Google support groups and your town or city to find one, check out sites like Meetup, or consider joining a Facebook or Discord group.
Hire a caregiver coach. More life coaches are specializing in working with caregivers. You can locate them online or by referral from support groups. Maybe someone in your network already knows one. Also, visit Caregivers Alberta to work with one of their coaches.
Connect with religious community. Many caregivers report finding much-needed support from their spiritual leader and their fellow congregation members. Also, in a study published in The Gerontologist, caregivers who incorporated faith and spiritual beliefs had a better relationship with the person they were caring for. They were also less likely to experience depression and a sense that caregiving had become all-consuming.
Download caregiving apps. Keeping track of paperwork, schedules, errands, information and navigating with the medical system adds to caregiver burden. Apps are increasingly providing a central place for caregivers to store all the information they need and to organize their caregiver duties and responsibilities.
Consult the person you’re caring for. It might seem counterintuitive to include seniors in their own care to help alleviate the burden on family caregivers. But there’s no escaping that caregiving is often discussed with a subtle attitude that our elderly loved ones are helpless. A significant number of seniors who require care can still perform many tasks for themselves.
According to a research article published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, mental health illnesses affected 17 to 30 percent of Canadians over age 65. If depression, anxiety or dementia were included, that number climbed to 40 to 50 percent.
So, even in the worst-case scenario, that means more than 50 percent of senior citizens are mentally capable of contributing to making decisions about their own care. A good practice to adopt as a caregiver is to ask your loved one for their opinion and actively include them in decision-making.
You will find that minimizing your role in making decisions and finding solutions really does help to lighten the load.
Barriers to Building a Strong Caregiver Network
- Stigma or embarrassment
- Pride
- Ego or superhuman syndrome (you think you can, or have to, do it all yourself)
- Perfectionism
- Socioeconomic status
- Mistrust of the medical system and government organizations
- Poor time management
- Family expectations and values (for instance, children should be primarily responsible for the care of an elderly loved one)
- Lack of awareness of resources and not knowing how to find them
How Communities Can Help
- A national caregiver policy. A 2009 report by the Special Senate Committee on Aging recommended a comprehensive caregiver strategy to address the needs of caregivers in Canada.
- Formal policies and programs in the workplace, including flexible work-from-home options.
- More community programs and initiatives.
- More financial assistance, including increasing tax credits, and providing partial funding to hire professional caregivers.
- Caregiver education and training, including specific learning for situations a caregiver is coping with, such as caring for a loved one with a physical disability, mental illness or who is at the end of their life.
- A family effort. Most caregivers are women and older siblings are more likely to be their parents’ primary caregiver than younger siblings.
- Greater communication with health professionals during the end-of-life stage. In a study published in BMC Geriatrics, caregivers revealed that they felt more frequent and ongoing communication was needed to better address changing information needs. They felt that “health professionals should be more responsive to attempts to contact them.” Also, they wanted to continue to engage with health professionals after the person they were caring for had died.
- More support and flexible arrangements from schools and universities for young caregivers. Canada has about 1.25 million caregivers between ages 15 and 24.
- More media coverage to help drive awareness and boost support — including charitable and private funding — for caregivers.
Sources:
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health: Changes in Caregiver Personal Support Networks: Gender Differences and Effects on Health (CUIDAR-SE Study) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34770237/
Frontiers in Psychiatry: Disparities in Utilization of Psychiatry Services Among Home Care Clients: The Tale of Two Canadian Jurisdictions https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.712112/full
BMC Geriatrics: Concerns and potential improvements in end-of-life care from the perspectives of older patients and informal caregivers: a scoping review https://bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12877-021-02680-2
WZB Berlin Social Science Center: When parents need care: Division of labor among siblings https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140318093401.htm
The Gerontologist: The Role of Religion/Spirituality in Coping With Caregiving for Disabled Elders https://bit.ly/3xg9ldR
