Few urban–rural differences in older carers' access to community services

Abstract

To examine perceived adequacy of access to information and services, and perceived quality of health and community services, among older female carers across rural and urban areas primary data were collected as part of the ongoing Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH). In all, 306 women in their 70s who had family caregiving roles responded to a nested substudy of the ALSWH. There were few reported differences between urban and rural older carers in their access to health and community services for the people they cared for. In fact, those in rural areas fared slightly better than those in urban areas in awareness of service availability and perceived quality of service. Many older carers in both rural and urban areas do not access health and community services even when appropriate services are available. A better understanding is needed of how support can be delivered to com- MANY PEOPLE WITH long-term disability, illness or frailty are cared for by family members. While there are many positive outcomes from caregiving, such as personal growth 1 or feelings of gratification, pride and resiliency, 2 there is also evidence that the task of providing care can become an overwhelming burden which results in significant negative consequences for the carer' s physical and mental health and for the community in general. 3 Appropriate services have the potential to reduce the stress and burden felt by carers. 4 A number of studies have identified high levels of unmet need for services among carers but it is not clear whether it is lack of services or reluctance to use them which causes the problem. 3 Reasons for low use of existing services are varied and may include the belief that caring is part of the role of spouse or family member, the care recipient not wishing to accept services, the service not being suitable for some reason, carers not being aware of service availability, or problems

Home and community care services: a major opportunity for preventive health care

“…This reflects targeting of services to special needs groups, as well as perhaps facilitation of access to services in rural areas through closer community networks [22] and variations in assessment practices [23]. Similar factors, as well as higher rates of disability, may contribute to higher rates of HACC service use among Indigenous people.…”

The unmet support needs of carers of older Australians: prevalence and mental health

“…Some carers require support and education on practical skills to assist with their caregiving role and access to support services is oftentimes limited due to complex eligibility criteria (Essue et al, 2010). This is complicated further by the low levels of assistance to primary caregivers and awareness of many existing community services for carers and their recipients (Lucke et al, 2008;Vecchio, 2008b). Users of different support services may also have differing levels of unmet support needs.…”

The willingness of informal caregivers to assist their care‐recipient to use Home Medicines Review

“…Enhancing participation among caregivers could be challenging because research has demonstrated a lack of willingness to participate among patients who have not yet experienced the service . In addition, caregivers of frail, older patients tend not to use many of those services available to them, and further work is needed to understand how to encourage participation …”

“…22 In addition, caregivers of frail, older patients tend not to use many of those services available to them, and further work is needed to understand how to encourage participation. 23,24 At present, there is currently no existing theoretical framework which links caregivers' stress with their intentions to participate in health services. Furthermore, there are no quantitative studies that have investigated caregivers' willingness to participate in HMR.…”