For caregivers over 65 caring for another elderly person, help is out there. They’re just not taking it.
The News Lens
Date: 2019/01/01
By: If Lin
Graph by: If Lin
Source: Ministry of Health And Welfare’s Elderly Health And Living Status Survey.
The Data research method in 2013 was different from other years, so is not included in comparisons.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of people who have become caregivers for their elderly relatives. It’s a stressful job, especially for those with little experience in caring for others. This is especially so when the caregivers are elderly themselves.
This kind of care, where an elderly person cares for an elderly spouse or relative, is becoming increasingly common. Among those over age 65 who needed long-term care, the percentage who named their spouse as their primary caregiver rose from 13.2 percent in 2005 to 21.5 percent in 2017, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s survey on the Health and Living Status of the Elderly.
According to the survey data, 49.1 percent of caregivers over 65 years old were looking after their spouses, and most of them were working over 14 hours a day. Of these elderly caregivers, nearly half (49.2 percent) said they had nobody who could help out and give them a break every so often.
These statistics point to the increasingly common occurrence of “elderly-for-elderly care” arrangements in Taiwan – and note that elderly caregivers are understandably getting stressed out. [FULL STORY]
