It is estimated 5 million Canadians care for loved ones at home, with a disproportionate number being women and minorities, said Dr. Jane Barratt, who is secretary general of the International Federation on Aging and formerly was with the International Caregiving Alliance.
Dr. Jane Barratt
Canada lags behind Australia, the United Kingdom and many Scandinavian countries in the development of caregiver programs, cost incentive packages and respite services that enable families to continue increasingly sophisticated care and clinical regimens, Barratt said.
"Family caregivers are the invisible backbone of the health and long-term care system contributing over $5 billion of unpaid care," Nadine Henningsen, president of the Canadian Caregivers Coalition, said in a statement.
"We have seen from the front lines that without family caregivers, the formal healthcare system would not be able cope."
© 2008 United Press International, Inc
September 24, 2008
CANADA: Canada's Association for the Fifty Plus Seeks Family Caregiver Benefit
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TORONTO, Ontario (UPI), September 23, 2008:
A non-profit, non-partisan Canadian group called Tuesday for a universal family caregiver benefit for those who take care of elderly relatives.
Canada's Association for the Fifty Plus, known as CARP, said it wants the country's political parties to commit to the benefit to support family caregivers and to allow people to stay in their homes as they age.
It is estimated 5 million Canadians care for loved ones at home, with a disproportionate number being women and minorities, said Dr. Jane Barratt, who is secretary general of the International Federation on Aging and formerly was with the International Caregiving Alliance.
Dr. Jane Barratt
Canada lags behind Australia, the United Kingdom and many Scandinavian countries in the development of caregiver programs, cost incentive packages and respite services that enable families to continue increasingly sophisticated care and clinical regimens, Barratt said.
"Family caregivers are the invisible backbone of the health and long-term care system contributing over $5 billion of unpaid care," Nadine Henningsen, president of the Canadian Caregivers Coalition, said in a statement.
"We have seen from the front lines that without family caregivers, the formal healthcare system would not be able cope."
© 2008 United Press International, Inc
It is estimated 5 million Canadians care for loved ones at home, with a disproportionate number being women and minorities, said Dr. Jane Barratt, who is secretary general of the International Federation on Aging and formerly was with the International Caregiving Alliance.
Dr. Jane Barratt
Canada lags behind Australia, the United Kingdom and many Scandinavian countries in the development of caregiver programs, cost incentive packages and respite services that enable families to continue increasingly sophisticated care and clinical regimens, Barratt said.
"Family caregivers are the invisible backbone of the health and long-term care system contributing over $5 billion of unpaid care," Nadine Henningsen, president of the Canadian Caregivers Coalition, said in a statement.
"We have seen from the front lines that without family caregivers, the formal healthcare system would not be able cope."
© 2008 United Press International, Inc
