Survey Will Explore Caregiving Relationships
A new study in Nova Scotia will explore how much and what kind of caregiving takes place in the province and how it affects caregivers' health and well-being.
The survey is part of the Healthy Balance Research Program, a partnership of the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women and the Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women's Health. The program is funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.
Researchers Janice Keefe and Pamela Fancey of Mount Saint Vincent University developed and are managing the survey.
"We know that there are many Nova Scotians, particularly women, who are looking after aging parents, children or other family members with disabilities," said Dr. Keefe. "But nobody knows how many provide this caregiving, but nor do we know the impact on their mental, physical and emotional well-being."
Researchers hope to find out what proportion of Nova Scotians provide care and if people have left jobs to provide that care. They also want to know how caregiving affects caregivers' health, and their work and family balance.
Caregiving activities include such things as providing personal care to a family member or friend, accompanying them to appointments, helping them shop for groceries or other items, helping them with banking, or checking on them at night. However, caregiving is about relationships, not just tasks.
Care receivers for the purpose of the study are people who have a long-term condition, mental illness or a temporary difficult time because of illness, frailness or disability.
The research team will telephone several thousand Nova Scotians to ask a few questions to determine whether they are giving or receiving care. Respondents who give or receive care will be asked to continue with the full survey to explore the caregiving relationship in more detail.
The researchers will ensure that the survey reflects the lives of rural and urban Nova Scotians, of women and men, and of caregivers and care receivers.
"We are lucky to have researchers from the Mount whose expertise is recognized nationally and internationally," said Status of Women Minister Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. "This research will help us understand the impact of caregiving."
The next step will be to analyze how policy for caregivers can improve. A recent study commissioned by the program shows that women, who are more likely to provide care, are less likely to qualify for Employment Insurance, the program through which benefits such as compassionate care leave are now administered. Women are less likely than men to benefit from non-refundable tax credits because their incomes are too low. Pension benefits are also lower for women.
The findings will be of interest to policy makers in the areas of health and social services, to health service providers, community planners and people involved in the voluntary sector.
This survey is one of four research streams under the five-year Healthy Balance Research Program. The program examines the relationship between women's health and well-being and their paid and unpaid work.