Support for family caregivers: what do service providers say about accessibility, availability and affordability of services?

Abstract

This paper reports on a survey of providers of caregiver support services in Singapore (N = 36). The overall aim of the survey was to provide feedback to service planners and programme staff on the delivery of services to caregivers and opportunities for improvement. A questionnaire, comprising both closed and open‐ended questions, was used to collect data. The results showed that most health and social service providers offer counselling, case management, caregiver assessment, financial assistance and information. A minority provide emergency, short‐stay respite care and day care. About one in three provide transportation services, which featured as a barrier to service utilisation. Other barriers identified were time commitments, lack of awareness of services, cost of care, caregivers’ sense of responsibility, lack of alternate care arrangements and distrust. The survey also characterises the hard‐to‐reach caregivers as homebound, illiterate, socially shy and isolated, of low income and poorly educated. Most service providers emphasise that financial support is necessary in order to improve the prospects of family caregivers.

Experiences of caregivers of people with Parkinson’s disease in Singapore: a qualitative analysis

“…Some caregivers said that financial burdens affected their coping abilities and that they were fearful about medical expenses and wished for better insurance and government subsidies. This finding supports the research by Ng (2009) that caregiver support services in Singapore were a key to improve the role of caregiving. Unlike other countries, there are no tax incentives or caregiver allowance that offers financial relief to Singaporean caregivers (Montgomery & Holzhausen 2003).…”

“…Whittier et al. (2005) and Ng (2009) also found that a lack of available transportation was a barrier to accessing supportive services. A small number of caregivers also reported that increasing public awareness of PD would also facilitate caregivers and care recipients’ positive experiences with PD.…”

Psychoeducational Programs for Informal Caregivers of Dependent Older Adults: Barriers to Participation

“…Findings agree with other studies, identifying several barriers related to the use of support services. Tin Ng (2009) asked the participants in his study to name the barriers hindering them from using the supplied service, and the answers were subsumed under three categories: related to the caregivers, to the care recipients, and to the service providers. The answers related to the caregivers included time constraints, lack of awareness of the services, transportation, cost of care, the caregivers' sense of duty and attitudes, and distrust.…”

Older adults as caregivers in Hong Kong

“…More direct assistance, especially financial aid or subsidies, should be given to caregivers, especially low-income caregivers who have given up their jobs to provide family care (Ng 2009 include Australia, which provides benefits such as a Caregiver Allowance and Caregiver Payment, and Germany, which allows family caregivers to make a claim for incurred expenses associated with hiring help to care for a household member (Montgomery and Feinberg 2003). Such financial aid given to family caregivers could alleviate their financial burden and provide recognition for their contributions.…”