WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT CAREGIVERS OR CAREGIVING?

There are over 8 million Canadians currently providing care, “informal care” – that is, caring for a friend or family member without any financial compensation. This number makes up almost 25% of the total Canadian population, and will continue to grow. Yet, even with these high numbers, many Canadians aren’t aware of why family caregivers need more support, from physical health risks to its impact on mental health.

Awareness about the importance of caregiving, its impact, and how to prepare is essential in creating a more positive culture for family caregivers. However, change starts at the individual level, and this blog will explore why all Canadians should care about the issue of family caregiving.

The Backbone of the Healthcare System

In Canada, healthcare is a hot topic, and access consistently ranks as a top concern. Family caregiving is filling a huge gap in access to care for a wide range of circumstances, ranging from taking care of ageing family members to supporting children and young adults with different abilities. Yet when people talk about healthcare, they rarely discuss caregiving. Without family caregivers, the tasks they’re performing, such as home dialysis, preparing meals, personal care, and medication management, would require various medical professionals, putting a strain on an already stretched system.

Family caregiving provides real economic value and has real impacts. It would be almost impossible to replace the 8 million family caregivers providing care nationwide, with 75% of care in Canada being provided by caregivers at an estimated cost of 97 billion dollars annually. However, the issue hardly ever makes headlines in healthcare discussions. Caregiving isn’t just a family thing; it’s a big part of the national healthcare system.

The Cost of Caring

Caregiving can have a huge impact on the workforce. With an extra 19 hours of unpaid work on average each week, caregivers who are already in the workforce face real challenges. The numbers don’t lie:

• 38% of caregivers miss days of work entirely to provide care to a loved one
  
  
• 16% of caregivers reduce their hours at work to provide care
  
  
• 6% of caregivers exit the workforce entirely
  
  
• An estimated 1.3 billion in lost productivity per year
  
  

Aside from the impact on the workforce, caregiving also has a human cost, including long hours, emotional fatigue, and significant financial strain. This can lead to stress, social isolation, and lost income, which can hurt the mental health of caregivers, their families, and their employers. This toll isn’t always visible, especially since caregiving is often seen as a private family matter. However, the impact of family caregiving goes beyond the family unit to the workplace, the community, and the healthcare system.

You Will Most Likely Be A Caregiver

As Rosalynn Carter once said, “There are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.”

This is the reality for most Canadians: they’ll become caregivers or need care at some point, whether they know it yet or not. There’s not much talk about how to get ready for being a carer mentally, physically, and financially. Some of the most common challenges new caregivers face when they first take on the role are:

• Lack of training: Many family caregivers begin their role without the necessary training to perform complex medical and personal care tasks, which creates significant risks and challenges as they take on responsibilities that are usually the remit of healthcare professionals.
  
  
• Care coordination: Family caregivers face significant challenges when coordinating care. These include booking appointments, navigating complex health systems, and overcoming barriers such as language differences and confusing eligibility requirements. These barriers can prevent both caregivers and care recipients from accessing necessary services.
  
  
• Lack of information: Canadian family caregivers struggle to access specific information relevant to their role due to the focus being placed on care recipients and information being decentralized, yet this access is crucial for both caregiver wellbeing and their ability to provide effective care.
  
  

All of these challenges are real barriers that new caregivers face consistently. While there are resources available, preparation and care for your future role are essential to easing the process and reducing the chance of burnout.

A Call to Action

Caregiving affects all Canadians, and goes beyond individual families to impact our healthcare system, economy, and social fabric. Family caregivers aren’t just doing their jobs out of love: they’re an essential, yet under-appreciated part of our healthcare system. They’re doing their best, facing significant challenges, with limited knowledge, support, and resources. For all the value they bring to our society, they shouldn’t have to face these problems alone. That’s why we should care, not just as individuals, but as a nation that values helping others.

The Petro-Canada CareMakers Foundation knows that supporting caregivers isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s also a smart move. When we support caregivers today, we’re helping to create a more compassionate system for when we might need care ourselves in the future, or become a caregiver to someone we love