Report on caregivers: CCEA fears an aging crisis
Posted May 2, 2024 9:44 am.
The mental health of caregivers is compromised, they experience financial difficulties and half of them do not know the resources available to support them. This is what emerges from a national report on Canadian caregivers released Wednesday by the CCEA.
Titled “Être aidant au Canada: Enquête auprès des aidants et des fournisseurs de soins à travers le Canada,” the report from the Centre canadien d’excellence pour les aidants (CCEA) sounds the alarm regarding the aging population. They warn that the healthcare crisis the country is facing will only get worse without concrete measures being put in place.
“The worst-case scenario is brewing: demand for care increases, caregivers age, the number of available caregivers decreases, and care needs become more complex due to the aging population and increasing rates of care, disability and mental health problems,” states the report.
“There is an urgent need to ensure that caregivers and care providers have the resources and services they need to meet their responsibilities.”
Half of Canadians will be caregivers in their lifetime. According to Statistics Canada, in 2022, 6.4 million Canadians provided unpaid care to care-dependent adults.
The CCEA defines caregivers as “family members, friends, or others providing unpaid support to a person with a physical, intellectual, or developmental disability, health problem, mental illness, or aging-related needs.” Care providers provide the same types of care, but they are paid.
The report’s findings are based on a national survey on caregiving, involving more than 3,000 caregivers and care providers across the country, primarily from Ontario (38 per cent of respondents) and Quebec (24 per cent of respondents).
According to the CCEA, this survey fills some data gaps and some indicators are measured for the first time in Canada.
A worrying finding emerges from the survey concerning the mental health of caregivers in the country: a quarter of them indicate that their mental health is fair or poor. “The more time caregivers spend caring for others, the more tired, overwhelmed and depressed they become,” the report summarizes.
It also shows that being a caregiver is a source of financial stress. The survey results revealed that 37 per cent experienced financial difficulties, 19 per cent had to stop saving and 15 per cent took on more debt, all due to their caregiving responsibilities.
The CCEA reports that half of caregivers are unaware of care-related tax credits and the vast majority believe that an income tax credit or monthly care allowance would be useful.
“Carers indicated that financial supports are the most important policy solution – across all aspects of support – to meet their needs,” the document reads. The CCEA wants measures to be taken to implement direct compensation for caregivers. He also argues that tax credits and tax benefits must be better known and their eligibility expanded.
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—This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French and translated by CityNews
