Caregivers

Overview

This overview provides a synopsis of the current knowledge base. Having considered all the information, we make sense of it by taking a stab at the following: 1) What are the priority issues that deserve attention, 2) What are opportunity areas that community or voluntary organisations can already take action on, and 3) What knowledge gaps deserve further investigation?

Definitions

Definition of Formal Caregiving

• Identify and define your target group or social issue, and state who is included or excluded to provide a sense of the scope of the issue. (For example, will the page on Animal Welfare include livestock? Or just focused on pets, community animals and wildlife?)
• It is usually easier to start with national guidelines, laws or reports from apex organisations.
• Include a comparison with how other countries define the issue if possible (e.g. Local definition of Disability does not include mental health conditions)

Key Statistics & Figures

• 210,000 people aged 18 to 69 provide regular care to family and friends, and this number is expected to rise (ST 23 Sept 2013)

Map of Key Needs & Issues (TBC)

• The TOC can be articulated this way: If caregivers have the requisite skills and knowledge to take care of their dependents; are physically & mentally healthy; have strong family & peer support; adequate financial & work support; and make long-term plans for when they pass on; then they will be able to sustain the provision of care.
• Put a different way, we can also say: There are 4 key pre-conditions for parents to provide quality caregiving for the long term: 1) Caregiving Knowledge & Skills; 2) Health & Well-being, 3) Family & Peer support, 4) Financial and Work Support, and 4) Future Care Planning

Types of Programmes		Areas of Needs / Desired Outcomes
Information & Referral Training programmes Communities of Practice	→	Caregiving Skills & Knowledge	↘
?	→	Health & Mental Well-Being	↘
Family Workshops	→	Secondary Caregivers & Support from Community	→	Caregivers sustainably provide quality care
?	→	Financial & Work Related Support	↗
?	→	Public Awareness & Support	↗

Sub-pages

• If there are population segments that have substantial enough information or interest, then create sub-pages for them. e.g. 'Autism' can be a stand alone pages linked to the Disability pages if the autism community is keen to populate more autism specific information. Or, artists with disability can populate a 'Arts & Disability' page.
• Insert links to these sub-pages.

Limitations and Relevance of Formal Caregiving

• Limitations
• Relevance

Existing Programmes	Gaps & Their Causes	Possible Solutions
Information & Referral AIC Silver Pages	Awareness of services is high (National Surveyof Senior Citizens) but lack clarity on how the services actually work. Caregivers typically have to piece together multiple support services that may not be designed to work together (see NCSS 2016 Who Cares?)
Training grants Caregivers Training Grants
Training programme TOUCH Caregiver's Alliance Ltd SCCL Caregivers Workshop	Affordable because caregivers pay virtually nothing for these programmes, but the content can be improved for context-specificity (each caregivers circumstance is different and dependent on condition of care recipient). Are we faced with provider-centric training programmes rather than those that meet skill needs of caregivers? Accessibility of such training workshops may be an issue as caregivers may not be able to afford time or energy to attend formal courses.	Install caregiver programmes in institutions (e.g. Hospitals) where care recipient may be taken, and for physicians to assess caregivers own health when they take care recipients for medical consultations
Communities of Practice Sharing platforms for fellow caregivers to exchange tips TOUCH Facebook group		More to tap into the collective intelligence of care providers

Informal Caregiving

• Definition
• Key Statistics and Figures
• List of Caregiving Policies

Existing Policies	Details of Policies	Gaps & Their Causes	Possible Solutions
FDW Levy Concession
Home Caregiving Grant
Caregivers Training Grant

Courses/skills/training for FDWs

• • • • • Employment rights regarding FDWs
        • Recognising power imbalances between employee and FDWs
          • Lack of power to negotiate for rest, skills upgrading
          • Family members as primary caregivers and FDWs as secondary caregivers - but the roles are often possibly (?) switched and FDWs end up taking over as the primary caregiver
        • Lack of psychological well-being services for FDW caregivers
          • Peer-support groups, seeking professional counselling (FDWs not considered as primary caregivers)

Potential Solutions

• Suggested Research Directions
• Secondary Caregivers & Support from Community
• Public Awareness & Support
• Customisable trainings and courses

Existing Programmes	Details of Policies	Gaps & Their Causes	Possible Solutions
Category A
Category B
Category C

General Limitations

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Secondary Caregivers & Support from Community

• Desired Outcome: Shared responsibilities with secondary caregivers, family and larger community
• Synopsis: [To insert]
• Statistics: Increasing reliance on foreign domestic workers to provide caregiving. But 18% do not have any other person to assist them, 44% has one other person, and 27% have tow other persons (Ng Guat Tin 2006: 11)

Existing Programmes	Gaps & Their Causes	Possible Solutions
Sharing Caregiving Load SCCL Workshop - 'Caregiving is a Shared Family Responsibility'	Primary caregivers tend to should burdens on their own because of cultural norms such as expectation that caregiving is a responsibility they should shoulder on their own (See NCSS 2016: 43). Stress and anxiety is caused not just by executing these responsibilities, but also by the lack of clarity about such roles and responsibilities.	Help caregivers develop trust with ability to share and delegate responsibilities with secondary caregivers or others. Normalize such conversations about caregiving roles and responsibilities (NCSS 2016: 47) Tap into RCs, CCs

Sharing Caregiver Load

• SCCL Workshop - 'Caregiving is a Shared Family Responsibility'
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Category B Programmes

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Category C Programmes

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Public Awareness & Support

• Desired Outcome: Need for public to be aware of and be emphatic of the heavy burden of caregiving
• Synopsis: [To insert]
• Statistics: [To insert]

Existing Programmes	Gaps & Their Causes	Possible Solutions
Public Education & Advocacy
Awards & Recognition AWWA's Model Caregiver Awards

Public Education & Advocacy

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Awards & Recognition

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Category C Programmes

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