Case Study

Informal Caregiving and Its Hidden Cost to National Economy- With a Toronto Case Study

Weizhen Dong
University of Waterloo, Canada
* Corresponding author
DOI icon 10.24018/ejmed.2022.4.1.1186

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Submitted 2021-12-30
Published 2022-01-27

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Article Main Content

More than eight million Canadians are providing care for their aging family members, relatives, neighbours, or friends. Due to staff shortage, eldercare facilities are also relying on their residents’ families to fill the gap of the care needs. Caregiving responsibilities have forced many employees to take time-off from work or take early retirement, which is a heavy loss of productivity of Canada’s national economy. This study employed a mixed method strategy, and with both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods: interview, focus group discussion, and a questionnaire survey. It shows that Canadians must take time off from work or to leave jobs for providing care to their loved ones, even when they are residing in a long-term care setting. This seemingly private matter is a very public one in the other side of the coin: family caregivers’ lost time in employment is affecting Canada’s national economy significantly. Government should work with stakeholders to develop a national strategy to tackle the issue. COVID-19 outbreak has revealed long-term care institutions’ struggle with severe staff shortage in Canada.

Keywords: Canada, economy, eldercare, informal caregiver, long term care

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