Caregiving, Employment and Social Isolation: Challenges for Rural Carers in Australia.

Caregiving, Employment and Social Isolation: Challenges for Rural Carers in Australia. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Oct 16;15(10): Authors: Hussain R, Wark S, Ryan P Abstract Australia has one of the world's highest life expectancy rates, and there is a rapidly growing need for informal caregivers to support individuals who are ageing, have chronic illness or a lifelong disability. These informal carers themselves face numerous physical and psychological stressors in attempting to balance the provision of care with their personal life, their work commitments and family responsibilities. However, little is known about the specific challenges facing rural carers and the barriers that limit their capacity to provide ongoing support. A cross-sectional survey composed of open-ended responses and demographic/socioeconomic measures used routinely by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare (AIHW) was used with a cohort of 225 rurally-based carers within New South Wales, Australia. Demographic questions specified the respondents' age, gender, employment, caregiving status, condition of and relationship to the care recipient, postcode, residency status, and distance and frequency travelled to provide care. Open-ended comments sections were provided to allow participants to describe any issues and problems associated with caregiving including employment, travel, residency, care...
Source: Rural Remote Health - Category: Rural Health Authors: Tags: Int J Environ Res Public Health Source Type: research