Informal care provision among male and female working carers: Findings from a Swedish national survey

Abstract

Introduction Informal carers in paid employment–working carers (WKCs)—have complex support needs. However, little is known about WKCs’ pattern of informal care provision, the support they receive, the impact providing care has on their employment, and how these vary between male and female WKCs. This study describes the pattern of informal care provision and received support among Swedish WKCs. Research method/Design The study was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey of a stratified random sample of the Swedish population aged 18 or over. The questionnaire addressed the type and extent of informal care provided, support received and the impact of care provision on employment. Of the 30,009 people who received the questionnaire, 11,168 (37.3%) responded, providing an analytic sample of 818 (7.32% of respondents) employed or self-employed informal carers. Findings A typical Swedish WKC was a middle-aged female, providing weekly or daily care to a non-cohabitant parent, who experiences care as sometimes demanding and receives no formal support as a carer. Female WKCs were more likely than males to care alone and with higher intensity, to report a need for help in meeting their care-recipient’s needs, and to experience care as demanding. Approximately 17% of WKCs reported their employment had been affected due to caring, 40% their ability to work, and 31% their career development opportunities. Female WKCs’ ability to work was affected more than males’, and they were more commonly prevented from applying for work. Conclusion Swedish female WKCs compared to males provide more hours of informal care, across more care domains, more often alone. This places them in a challenging situation when combining paid work and care. Greater recognition of the challenges faced by WKCs is required in Sweden and other countries, as are policies to reduce gender inequalities in informal care provision in this group.

Social and Gender Differences in Informal Caregiving for Sick, Disabled, or Elderly Persons: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…There is a clear pattern whereby women to a larger extent than men take on caring tasks on the heavier end of the caring spectrum, such as help with personal hygiene, dressing, and eating, while male informal caregivers are more commonly involved as providers of practical help, such as housework, paperwork, transport, gardening, or household repairs. Thus, our results seem to confirm results obtained in other studies on informal care, namely that women take on a heavier care burden than men both through their higher involvement in personal care and a higher number of hours spent providing care ( Jegermalm, 2006 ; Martin-Matthews & Campbell, 1995 ; Verbakel et al, 2017 ; Vicente et al, 2022 ).…”

“…However, being an informal caregiver for someone with special care needs can be a considerable burden for same-household and another-household caregivers alike. Not only does informal caregiving typically present challenges balancing caregiving responsibilities with work, family life, and other responsibilities ( Vicente et al, 2022 ); caregivers also often suffer from considerable psychological stress and anxiety, especially if the care receiver has extensive care needs ( del-Pino-Casado et al, 2021 ; Wold et al, 2017 ).…”

Working Conditions Affecting Home Care Workers’ Stress and Turnover Intention

“…Thus, some working conditions, even those decided institutionally, must meet the social expectations of workers. Meanwhile, working hours appeared, unexpectedly, to increase paid home care workers’ turnover intention; this implies that paid family home care workers who are satisfied with their working hours and, thus, have a relatively large amount of time to spare, tend to seek other jobs (Vicente et al, 2022).…”

Technology Acceptance of a Mobile Application to Support Family Caregivers in a Long-Term Care Facility

“…4,11 Family caregivers usually assist in activities of daily living (i.e., eating and dressing) and strengthen the care recipient's quality of life by providing social and emotional support. 9,10,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18] The family caregiver role can be time-consuming and challenging 4,19,20 and is commonly associated with stress and burden. 3,9,21,22 Family caregivers can be involved in caring for more than one individual, for example, their mother and father.…”