Unpaid caregivers of seniors are valued at $3 billion

They need so much more support, says Andrew Neuner.

As part of our ongoing work, the Health Quality Council of Alberta took a fulsome look at the role of unpaid caregivers of seniors with declining health. We set out to measure the impact and value in terms of costs avoided by our health system.

Our goal was to better understand how Albertans who rely on provincially funded home care as well as their family caregivers can be supported so they remain living at home as long as possible. Of particular interest are homecare clients who were cognitively unwell and their caregivers. These are the individuals who often require more support and resources.

What we learned was valuable. And some of it was heartbreaking.

If you’re not currently taking care of a senior with health issues, there’s a good chance you will at some point. Today, as many as one in 10 Albertans provide at least 10 hours of unpaid care to an aging loved one every week. For some Albertans, it’s a 24/7 commitment. Their support goes above and beyond the professional and personal services provided by homecare professionals in our health-care system.

These informal caregivers — many times the spouses and adult children of the loved ones — provide everything from medical and emotional support to transportation, housework and personal care.

Without a doubt, it’s a critical contribution. It keeps seniors living at home longer, which saves Alberta’s health-care system about $3 billion a year, according to our very conservative calculations.

Many of those who participated in our study told us they experience a negative personal toll on their emotional and physical health because of their caregiving demands.

Words like “mentally exhausted,” “hemmed in,” “trapped,” “overwhelmed,” “worn out,” and “depressed” were used by people to describe the load they carry as informal caregivers.

In several instances, spouses openly admit to strains on their marriages, sleepless nights and their own deteriorating health because of their commitment and efforts to stand by their loved ones.

But there were also many who feel fulfilled and motivated by their caregiving responsibilities.

Most unpaid caregivers spoke about their challenges. These challenges, in turn, affect their quality of life and inevitably the quality of care they provide their loved ones.

If we do not appropriately support caregivers, they risk becoming users of the health-care system themselves.

So where do we begin?

It starts with acknowledging the role that informal caregivers play in our health-care system.

Long after the homecare staff have paid their visit to support seniors, it’s the unpaid caregivers who step forward to shoulder the responsibility of care. Family caregivers perform as much as 75 per cent of the care that independent seniors require at home, according to literature from the Health Council of Canada.

As our population ages, this role becomes the reality for more of us in the years ahead. By 2031, 20 per cent of the Alberta population will be seniors. And the majority will rightly prefer to live in their private homes for as long as possible.

Now is the time to have conversations about what’s working well, where we’re falling short, and how we can better support family caregivers. We need policy-makers, health-care professionals and all Albertans involved in the discussion.

If we address caregivers’ needs, we will not only avoid considerable health-system expenses in the future, but, more importantly, we will help seniors remain safely where they want to be, in their homes with their loved ones.

Visit hqca.ca to review our report, The

Impact on Unpaid Caregivers Who Support Their Loved Ones Aging in Place, and learn more about this important issue.

Andrew Neuner is chief executive of the Health Quality Council of Alberta, an independent provincial government agency dedicated to promoting and improving patient safety and health-service quality.

If you’re not currently taking care of a senior with health issues, there’s a good chance you will at some point.