Caregiving in Canada
Par Family Councils Ontario
It’s a well-known fact in Canada that our population in aging. It’s also well-known that as the population ages, more and more people will require care. Along with that, more and more of us will provide care and become caregivers. For this month, we’re turning our focus to caregiving. While the needs of caregivers informs all aspects of our work, for October we’re going to focus specifically on this important topic.
To kick off this month, we’re taking a broad look at caregiving in Canada. Here are a few statistics from Statistics Canada,
- "At some point in their lives, nearly half of Canadians aged 15 years and older (46%) or 13 million Canadians had provided some type of care to a family member or friend with a long-term health condition, disability or aging needs." 1
- Specifically, “Age-related needs were identified as the single most common problem requiring help from caregivers.”1
- Also interesting to note is that over half of caregivers are women.1
As people require more intense care that cannot be provided in their own Home, Long-Term Care becomes the next option. However, we know that family caregiving does not end when someone moves into Long-Term Care. While the specific tasks will change, the involvement of family members does not necessarily lessen. Next week, we’re taking a deeper look at caregiving in Long-Term Care.
Stay tuned throughout this month for more posts on caregiving, including resources, tips and more!
Source:
1: Statistics Canada. 2012. Portrait of caregivers. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 89‑652‑X. Ottawa. Version updated September 2013. Ottawa. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-652-x/89-652-x2013001-eng.pdf (October 4, 2017).