How are family caregivers doing?

Martha is a 68-year-old, happily married pensioner who has been showing the first symptoms of dementia since the beginning of the year. She and her daughter Sabine agree - from now on she needs support in her everyday life.

This poses a difficult question for Sabine. As a childless bank clerk, she has never had to take care of another person before. Her husband advises her to look for a suitable care agency. 

But Sabine is determined: In her job, she has to deal with greedy business people on a daily basis, and there is usually not much sign of solidarity and charity. 

Hers mother's care, on the other hand, makes sense for her and, of course, for Martha. She wants to take over the care herself. But Sabine quickly realizes that her good will is not enough here.

Like many others, she realizes that the nursing profession can be a tough one. She has no experience and is overwhelmed. She is not alone in this. Around half of all family caregivers in Austria feel a huge burden due to their daily tasks.

How are family caregivers doing?

By deciding to take over Martha's care, Sabine is joining the general trend in the Austrian care landscape. According to a study from 2018, there are around 950,000 adults who provide some or all of the care for relatives. Of these, 73% are female and the average age is just over 60 years old.

The subjective state of health that was determined, i.e. the self-assessment of the personal and social dimensions of one's own well-being, is worrying. This showed that the family caregivers surveyed were in a significantly worse state compared to the population as a whole.

Challenges for family caregivers in Austria

Stress, excessive demands, inner turmoil and feelings of loneliness are four of the most common concerns of carers. Overall, 48% stated that they felt very or extremely stressed. Factors such as dementia, bedriddenness and a higher care allowance level increase the subjective burden.

However, the study also revealed that caring for relatives also has very positive aspects. First and foremost, the strong sense of connection with the relatives being cared for and the more intensive relationship make the negative factors justifiable for many people.

In addition, many use it as an opportunity to give something back, especially to their parents, for the care they received as a child.

What do family caregivers in Austria want?

Care provided by relatives is one of the main pillars of care. Due to the high priority it has in Austria, it automatically becomes a social issue rather than a family issue.

This means that families are dependent on the help and support of the state and charitable organizations. Although financial support is the most important aspect of the aid measures, the wide range of services go far beyond this.

Support for family caregivers in Austria

Referring back to the above-mentioned study, it is clear that family caregivers express very specific wishes and needs as to how this support should be provided. 

The three most important needs are financial support, help in coping with the daily care routine and the opportunity to take time off. This support is particularly important if the carer is unable to provide care, for example due to illness, treatment, vacation or other reasons.

These needs go hand in hand with a central wish. Above all, family caregivers want to be better perceived from the outside. The public should perceive, value and strengthen them as a central group in the care system.

In addition, the challenge posed in particular by dementia and the associated burden for family caregivers should also be recognized and kept in mind. There should also be a greater focus on children in need of care.

In addition, relatives in need of care want more transparency. More information on services and financing and more advice. This should be problem-centered, proactive and, above all, available at the right time.

Not least, a high degree of flexibility in many aspects of care is very important. Care does not follow a timetable. It is therefore all the more important that the existing offer has a similar flexibility.

Residents would like to be able to make use of the wide range of services on a short-term and hourly basis. Carers should also be available in acute cases and the range of professional or private substitute care should be expanded.
 

Profession and care

Flexibility is not only relevant in terms of the variety of offers. If you want to reconcile your own job and caring for relatives, your employer needs to be flexible. In this respect, there are already a number of options that employees can take advantage of.

In the article "What to do if my caregiver is absent", these options have already been explained in detail. Here is just an overview:

Pflegekarenz and Pflegeteilzeit are probably the best-known measures. In summary, these are bridging measures that can be taken up by the employee if necessary.

These can be claimed if at least level 3 care allowance is received (in the case of dementia: level 1). In addition, the person must have been employed by the relevant employer for at least 3 months without interruption. This shows how important it is to be well versed in the field of care and support.

In addition, there is the Care leave. If you take advantage of this, you are released from work for up to one week and continue to receive the same salary. However, you must share the same household with the person in need of care and no other person must be able to care for them.

Opportunities to take time out

As mentioned above, another important need for family caregivers in Austria is to take some well-deserved time out from time to time. This is facilitated by various support services and offers that are specifically tailored to the needs of family carers in Austria.

Day care and centers

Day care centers give people in need of care the opportunity to receive care for up to five days a week. While all centers are equipped with the necessary care measures, there are also some centers that specialize in specific needs such as dementia.

In Upper Austria alone, there are around 200 day care places available. Unfortunately, this option is not available for bedridden people. Overnight care is also not possible. More information on day centers can also be found in the article "What to do if my carer is unavailable".

Short-term care

In addition to the option of taking advantage of this after a hospital stay, short-term care is an ideal way to relieve the burden on carers. To make this more affordable, the Ministry of Social Affairs, for example, offers financial support. The following criteria must be met:

The person has been predominantly caring for a close relative with at least care level 3, a person with demonstrable dementia with at least care level 1 or a minor child for at least one year.

The exact requirements and the amount of the grants can be found on the Website of the Ministry of Social Affairs. The online application can also be submitted here

The necessary know-how

In order to be able to care for a relative, one thing is particularly important in addition to the will and the financial means: the know-how about the care work itself. Many people, like Sabine, have never come into contact with the topic of care before, or only to a limited extent. And now they have to take over the care of a person completely?

This doesn't happen overnight. After all, healthcare and nursing staff undergo extensive training lasting several years in order to qualify for the nursing role. For this reason, support is offered primarily by non-profit organizations such as Caritas and the Austrian Red Cross.

Maintenance courses

In order to ensure quality in care by relatives, they have the opportunity to attend care courses. These are offered by Volkshilfe and the Red Cross and provide relatives with expert information in theory and practice

In addition to imparting knowledge, various mental

and interpersonal problems are addressed. For example, self-protection, boundaries and motivation are addressed. Aggression and frustration are also addressed and discussed with like-minded people. This can make a significant contribution to maintaining and improving the emotional health of carers.

Additional offers

Caritas in particular is committed to relieving the burden on family carers in Austria and offers a range of options, including:

Nora's conclusion

Family carers are a mainstay of the Austrian care system. The state and central organizations have also recognized this, which is why there are already numerous measures in place to support them.

However, given the inadequate, subjective state of health of many family carers, it is clear that there is still room for improvement here. The support fund for people with disabilities, which came into force in July 2023, offered additional support of €1,500 net per person in need of care.

We not only want to support family caregivers, but also those in need of care and caregivers. For this reason, we offer noracares - a care platform and community in one that supports you from the search for the right carer or the ideal job right through to the end. Register here to become part of this community.