National strategy needed for unpaid caregivers in the workplace
One in every three workers in Canada is assisting a chronically disabled person – many of them seniors – with transportation, household maintenance or day-to-day tasks, according to one report. The 6.1 million employed workers who are providing such care, free of charge, to a family member or friend are more likely to experience interruptions…
Wards are staffed based on caring for a sick but otherwise self-sufficient patient population. The reality is patients need family caregivers in the hospital
Family care is a key part of hospital care, so let's start talking about it that way. When a loved one is admitted to hospital, family caregivers want to offer comfort and support at the bedside. But in order to perform their healing role, they need to be recognized as key members of the hospital…
A national seniors strategy needs to account for complexity in the aging process, including risk and vulnerability
By Russell Williams and John Muscedere Canadian Frailty Network Canadians 65 years and older now outnumber children 14 years and under, which means our needs as a society are changing. We’re succeeding in shifting the aging curve through preventive interventions and better public health – that’s good news. But the changing demographic is causing strains…
Canadians tend to see caring as just the stuff of everyday life – ordinary people doing what comes naturally
There’s much to celebrate in Canada. Our country’s natural beauty and abundant resources give us many reasons for gratitude and celebration. But there’s an invisible resource that underpins our collective prosperity that deserves special mention: the caring people of Canada. Every day, their natural caring actions touch almost every one of us. According to the…
Our Family Ties column examines the issues of caregiving in Canadian society, and what we can do to alleviate some of the burden
An aging Canadian population and smaller families, combined with reduced health and social care budgets, mean the challenges of providing care to seniors will only worsen. Legions of families are buckling under the emotional, physical and fiscal burdens of caregiving. These pressures will be exacerbated by growing numbers of people living with demanding health challenges such…
But a study shows that residents in those regions are entering nursing homes with more complex care needs
By Matthias Hoben and Carole Estabrooks University of Alberta The most recent census, in 2016, showed that almost 17 per cent of Canadians are over age 65. In fact, those older than 85 have increased by almost 20 per cent since 2011, making it the fastest growing age group in Canada. We’re an aging populace,…
Building self-care into natural caregiving requires a mind shift. Natural caring relationships are reciprocal. Our job is both to give and to receive care
The refrain of “care for the caregiver” rings loud and hollow for many natural caregivers. A Google search turns up hundreds if not thousands of links to finger-wagging articles full of instructions to “take a bath” or “just take a break.” Natural carers are told that once they have taken care of their loved ones’…
Family caregivers and professional providers must work together to achieve well-being for people with chronic and complex diseases
Achieving health and well-being is never a solo act. Throughout our lifetime, the people who are closest to us – our family and friends – are the greatest influence on our health. As we are on theirs. This is interdependence. Far too often when the professional care system is involved, recognition of interdependence falls by the wayside.…
No professional care provider can see what we see – what was, what is and what can be for our family members and friends
The term visionary is rarely used to describe natural caregivers. Yet vision is indispensable when we take care. No professional care provider, no matter how trained or prepared, can see what we see – what was, what is and what can be for our family members and friends. Visionaries make the truth visible. Caregiving requires…
Lesson learned: We need to apply child-friendly practices to adult care because when you are ill or injured, you feel like a child again
Paid or unpaid, caregivers are never supposed to get sick, right? But sometimes they do. Sue Robins owns a health-care communications company and is the mother of a young man with Down syndrome. Robins used to blog about caring for her son and his encounters with the health-care system. But that all changed the day she received…