Eldercare crunch coming: researcher
We need to act now to avoid a serious care crisis
Canada will face a crisis in eldercare within a few years unless policymakers act now to head it off, says a Carleton University researcher.
Gabrielle Mason is a second-year PhD candidate in political science. In a paper presented at Congress 09, she says demographic changes combined with an aging population are about to create a serious eldercare crunch in Canada.
On the one hand, she says, the population is aging rapidly. By 2015 – only six years from now – there will be more people in Canada over the age of 65 than under the age of 15. And the proportion of seniors in the country is expected to double over the next 25 years.
On the other hand, the traditional caregivers are less willing and able to take on the job, for a variety of reasons.
Right now, 90 per cent of eldercare is done by informal caregivers, most of whom are women. But these days most women are working full-time outside the home and therefore less able to care for aged parents – particularly if they are also still raising their own family.
There are fewer natural caregivers available in any give family because people have been having fewer children. And divorce has left many seniors more vulnerable by removing the support of a spouse.
These changes, coupled with the fact we’re all living longer, mean we have to rethink eldercare.
“Canadian policymakers have only a few years to address the issue of eldercare,” says Mason, “because demographic changes are quickly leading to a crunch.”
Policymakers may not have to look very far. Mason says there are already examples of successful eldercare programs, and cites the Veterans Independence Program, or VIP, run by Veterans Affairs Canada.
VIP is, according to the Veterans Affairs website, a national homecare program that helps veterans and other qualified individuals remain healthy and independent in their own homes. Under VIP, people can for example receive funds to help pay for such things as grass cutting or snow shovelling, housekeeping, personal care, care and support by health professionals, and some transportation.
Mason said some 94,500 Canadians receive VIP assistance now, and it has proven its worth.
“A lot of people will argue that it will be costly to provide services similar to those at VIP,” says Mason. But she says programs like VIP eliminate or delay institutionalization, and in that sense save money.
“Canadian citizens deserve and should expect good quality of life in their elder years,” says Mason. “A minimum level of care shouldn’t be considered a luxury.”
