Caring for your elderly relative could be taking a toll on your health

They save around $78bn a year by providing unpaid care for an elderly loved one at home, but what is the real cost to these hard-working Aussies?

Unpaid older Australians caring for elderly loved ones at home may be saving billions of dollars in public funds each year, but for many it is at the cost of their own health.

Now researchers have launched a pilot program in Victoria to care for the carers.

It follows studies showing that two thirds of the care of older Australians at home is being provided by an unpaid older family member or friend, and for many their own health is being neglected.

This group provides around 60 per cent of unpaid care nationally according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a service valued at around $78bn.

In an Australian first the Carer Health and Wellbeing Service is looking at how best to support carers aged 50 years and over who provide informal care to people over 65.

Experts say caring for a loved one can be isolating and lonely and that often older carers’ own health and wellbeing needs can fall by the wayside. Image: Supplied.

The pilot is part of the National Centre for Healthy Ageing’s (NCHA) Living Labs research program.

It is funded by a Commonwealth Grant to the NCHA and led by Monash University’s Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living Research Centre (RAIL) and clinical leaders from Peninsula Health.

“This service is about offering them additional support and helping them sustain their carer role in better health,” Aislinn Lalor said.

Dr Lalor, from the RAIL research centre, is the principal investigator of the program. She says carers of older people provide essential support for those they care for to help them remain at home.

“(But) those aged 50 and older often have age-related health issues of their own.” Dr Aislinn said.

Co-investigator and ageing expert Professor Keith Hill from Monash University said this care saved billions of dollars every year.

“However, carers often do this without looking after their own health and wellbeing at the same time,” he said.

Dr Aislinn Lalor from Monash University’s Rehabilitation, Ageing, and Independent Living Research Centre is the principal investigator of the program. Image: Supplied.

Ivan Freer is 72 and despite his own health problems, he has been lovingly caring for his wife Suzanne for two years.

“She can’t get around very well and she can’t walk very far, and because of this it is up to me to do all of the housework,” Mr Freer said.

He has joined the pilot program, and recommends it.

“You can call yourself a carer but I think most people go into it with no experience,” he said.

“I am able to speak to (the service) about a lot of things and they have sent me in the right direction to get help or get what we need.

“It is always good to know someone is there for you and that you can ask questions.”

Dr Lalor said the unique service would prioritise the often neglected needs of the older carer with a team that includes social workers, psychologists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.

She said the interdisciplinary team assess and implement treatments to help address the

carer’s needs which may include stress, isolation, poor sleep quality, low physical activity or improving manual handling skills.

Dr Lalor said often older people don’t identify as being a carer because they are driven by the needs of the person they are caring for.

“We want them to know it is OK to give themselves some time and cut themselves some slack,” Dr Lalor said.

“It will also help being able to talk to someone about themselves and be given that sense of relief that it is OK to address their own needs.”

Monash University Professor Velandai Srikanth is the director of the National Centre for Healthy Ageing.

NCHA’s director Velandai Srikanth says supporting a loved one to age at home could be hard.

“We know that feelings of isolation and loneliness are real, and that often older carers’ own health and wellbeing needs can fall by the wayside,” Professor Srikanth said.

Dr Lalor said the service currently has a primary focus on the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula region, but there are also telehealth appointments available with the view to expand across Victoria and eventually nationwide.

“Being a carer is not something many people thought they were going to sign up for,” she said.

“People have this role to take on, but often see themselves as amateurs and there is also the loss of what they thought their future may look like, which can cause them anxiety.

“We want to help them feel valued.”

At a glance:

• Three million Australians provide care to a loved one at home

• Research by Deloitte Access Economics shows unpaid older carers save the health budget $78bn each year

The NCHA is a partnership between Monash University and Peninsula Health