Care Poverty in Canada

Care Poverty in Canada (2023-2026)

Canadians are increasingly living longer and with more complex health needs. There is widespread agreement that older adults and people with disabilities should be able to age in the place of their choice. This means that greater numbers of people are needing care at home for disabilities, chronic health conditions, and challenges related to aging . Yet, research consistently shows that our current systems struggle to meet these daily care needs. While informal caregivers often fill in these gaps, this is not without consequences. Meeting the daily care needs of Canadians is of utmost importance to ensure that everyone can live and age safely at home.

We undertook a study of ‘care poverty,’ which is a new approach to understanding situations of not enough care. Care poverty starts from the daily experiences of people who need care, and links these needs to their social context, including policies that shape access to formal and informal care (Kröger et al., 2019). This approach also offers a comprehensive understanding of care needs – encompassing personal care needs, practical help around the house, and socioemotional needs, and helps explain why and how care needs go unmet.

Our study aimed to:

1. document the national prevalence of care poverty in Canada for the first time;
2. identify risk factors for care poverty; and
3. analyze the structural conditions and processes shaping experiences of care poverty and its opposite, care security.

We worked with a community advisory committee involving Senior’s for Social Action Ontario, the Ontario Caregivers Coalition, Manitoba caregivers, and policy analysts to design and analyze the study. First, we undertook a statistical analysis using the 2018 Statistics Canada General Social Survey on Caregiving and Care Receiving. Then, we interviewed 32 older adults (and their caregivers, if needed) in Manitoba and Ontario about their experiences of care poverty.

Research Team Members

• Laura Funk, PhD, University of Manitoba
• Shahin Shooshtari, PhD, University of Manitoba
• Karen Duncan, PhD, University of Manitoba

Staff and Students

• Jennifer H. Sebring, PhD, University of Manitoba
• Alexis Lam, University of Manitoba
• Yue (Emma) Sun, University of Manitoba
• Md. Aslam Hossain, University of Manitoba
  

Project Partners

This work is guided by an advisory group coordinated by Seniors for Social Action (Ontario).