New Handbook Provides Help to Caregivers

A new information resource to help the 36 per cent of Nova Scotians who care for family, friends, neighbours and other people in their communities was launched today, Sept. 13.

Partners in the Healthy Balance Research Program developed the Caregiver's Handbook after a five-year study into the effect of paid and unpaid work on women's well-being. Partners include the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women, the Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women's Health and the Institute for Population Health at the University of Ottawa.

"Caregiving is a way of life in Nova Scotia," said Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, Minister responsible for the Advisory Council on the Status of Women and Minister of Seniors. "The Caregiver's Handbook is a first step in helping people think about the care they provide and that they may need."

Caregiving can involve bathing or dressing, giving medications, helping with housework and transportation, arranging and advocating for care, social support, and managing financial and legal matters.

The Caregiver's Handbook includes sections such as Services in Nova Scotia, Communicating with Friends and Family, Taking Care of Yourself, and Financial Matters. It also offers suggestions about accepting help from others.

Caregivers from African-Nova Scotian, First Nations, disability and immigrant communities contributed to the handbook.

Provincial expertise and funding from came the Department of Health Promotion and Protection, the Department of Acadian Affairs and the Seniors' Secretariat. Federal funding came from Human Resources and Social Development Canada.

"During the Healthy Balance Research Program, caregivers told us that they found it difficult to find information about support services," said Brigitte Neumann, co-director of the research program and executive director of the Advisory Council on the Status of Women. "This book is our response to an identified community need."

It is estimated that unpaid caregiving saves Canada's health-care system $5 billion annually. A Senate committee report in June 2006 determined that by 2031, 30 per cent of Nova Scotians will be 65 or older. A recent Healthy Balance survey found women account for at least 56 per cent of unpaid caregivers in Nova Scotia.

"Caregiving continues to be a private matter, especially in some cultures," said Doreen Paris, a member of the Healthy Balance Research Program equity reference group, and a member of the Advisory Council on the Status of Women. "Being part of the development of this book gave us the chance to share our personal experiences. This book launch gives us a chance to make our discussions about caregiving a public conversation."

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research provides funding for the Healthy Balance Research Program. The program is co-ordinated by the Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women's Health, the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women, and the Institute of Population Health at the University of Ottawa. Supporting partners are Dalhousie University, the IWK Health Centre and Health Canada's Bureau of Women's Health and Gender Analysis.