Family carers aren’t usually asked by health care workers if they need support in managing an older person’s care, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
While most of the 2,000 people surveyed – mainly spouses or other family members – said almost 90% of their GPs listened to them and over 70% said their doctor had asked about whether they understood their relative’s condition, just 28.2% has been asked if they needed help in the care of their relative.
For carers supporting people with dementia, this number jumped to 37.3%.
Nearly 20 million Americans are unpaid, usually live-in carers for people aged over 65, and Australia has a similar proportion of informal carers for its older population.
“These results suggest that we as a society could do a better job of supporting family caregivers, who are providing the lion’s share of day-to-day care to older adults with activity limitations,” says lead author Professor Jennifer Wolff.
The fact is many carers are still cut off from the health care sector – and there is potential for more services to assist family carers such as respite care.
The Royal Commission into Aged Care here is looking at new ways to support family carers, including more generous leave provisions and higher-level Home Care Packages.
If you are looking for more support in your role as a carer, you can visit the Government’s Carer Gateway here.
