One in four Canadians is a 鈥渉ome caregiver鈥� 鈥� taking care of a close relative.
鈥淚n 2018, almost one-quarter of seniors aged 65 and older (about 1.5 million people) provided care or help to family members or friends with a long-term condition, a physical or mental disability, or problems related to aging.鈥� (Stats. Can info: )
鈥淥ne-third (34%) of all caregivers aged 65 and older provided care for a spouse or partner. This proportion increased to 47% when focusing on seniors aged 75 and older, and to 50% for those aged 85 and older.鈥� (same website).
What does this look like in our society? Many older men and women are taking care of their spouses. They are also aging and struggling physically and mentally with their own health issues. They are also likely struggling with the changes in their spouse, both the physical changes and the mental changes. 鈥淔or better or for worse鈥� 鈥� the marriage vow rings in their ears. They may be grieving the losses in the marriage and in the person they spent so many years accompanying. He or she may seem like a different person now. And their friends may be in the same situation, which can be helpful for sharing (if they can coordinate their respite), or they may completely not understand their plight.
What do these family caregivers do? A LOT! They may assist with activities of daily living (ADL), helping their loved ones get dressed, bathed, in and out of bed, etcetera. They are probably also preparing meals, doing laundry and managing household responsibilities. They are probably shopping, doing the housework, and managing finances. They may be assisting with toileting and medical care. They are providing emotional care and support.
Of course, there will be interfaces with the healthcare system 鈥� the family caregiver has to manage medical appointments, and most importantly assist the health care professionals with understanding the patient and the patient鈥檚 wishes.
What do these home caregivers need? Often, they need respite 鈥� a couple of hours off, every day or two. They also need longer periods of time 鈥� maybe a week or longer, on a regular basis for relief from being a 鈥�24 hour a day鈥� home caregiver.
They may need help with the personal care of their loved one. The home caregiver鈥檚 needs for support are clearly health related and so, with a public healthcare system one would hope that the support would be readily available. While some services are available, they are often inadequate to meet the needs of the family caregiver. The help with personal care can be so 鈥渢ask oriented鈥� that the helper arrives, and then performs the task in a certain number of minutes. (eg. the 10 minute shower). Often an hour or two of help (to allow the caregiver to, for example, go shopping), is shortened as the Island Health accompanier subtracts driving time. The longer blocks of time may require waiting for months on a list for respite to come available. Home caregivers also need to be with others going through the same journey, to share their triumphs and challenges, to relax and laugh together. This need can only be met by having the respite time and the caregiver group time coincide.
As a society we need to both honour and help home caregivers as they are the backbone of our healthcare system. We welcome a time, in the words of our last BC Seniors Advocate, Isobel Mackenzie, 鈥渨hen a government caregiver arrives and says 鈥渉ow can I help?鈥� and not 鈥淚鈥檓 here for the 10 minute shower鈥�. In the Comox Valley in addition to government provided respite, some churches are providing an hour or two of 鈥渄rop off鈥� respite. There are also some local family caregiver support groups. CV Elders Take Action is in the process of making a list of local resources for family caregivers.
Contact me for more information: leave a message with your phone number at 250-334-2321.
