Women & Caregiving: Women Hold Up Half the Sky

According to Faye Porter, National Coordinator for the Care Renewal Project, “caregiving can place women at a significant disadvantage exacerbating poverty, health issues, social isolation and lack of participation in civil society or, lack of voice.” Women experience pay inequity and inferior workforce participation, live longer than men and have historically been assigned roles constrained by gender, and in the case of caregiving, take on a significantly heavier burden. According to Porter, this may mean they face “double jeopardy”, “the term denotes both family members and friends; the caregiver, whether legally related or not, is considered to be part of the family.” Many of these caregivers are seniors helping other seniors, and for women, much of what they do isolates them in their home” adds Porter.

The numbers support this theory: of the estimated 5 million Canadians who have undertaken family caregiving, 77% are women and 51% are women aged 45 and older. It follows that there are currently 3.85 million female informal caregivers in Canada, 1.96 million of whom are 45+. Already, studies of poverty among older women identify caregiving responsibilities as a factor which exacerbates the financial insecurity they already face because of lower work-life income, drop-out periods for child rearing and now, elder care.

Poverty is often cyclical. Inequities during working life will lead to higher rates of poverty and reliance on retirement income supports as they age: these inequalities need to be addressed. One of the biggest obstacles older women confront is that the current macro-economic support system is heavily skewed towards traditional work arrangements from which women have often been left out.

Women have been, and continue to be, more involved than men in low-paying, informal or part-time work: 22% of women are in low-paid jobs compared to 12% of their male counterparts, while 30% of employed women are working part time compared to 10% of employed men. Individuals involved in non-standard work arrangements lack the collective bargaining power that full-time workers often have. For these employees, the results are inferior working conditions, benefits and pension plans. In non-standard arrangements, employers often treat workers as contractors so as to avoid having to contribute their share of the worker’s CPP contribution.

Women are also more affected by divorce and single parenthood. In 1997, 5.4% of attached women 65 and older had incomes below the Low Income Cut Off (LICO) versus a staggering 49.1% of unattached women 65 and over. Increasing rates of separation/divorce have also contributed to women’s economic insecurity. Social patterns among newer immigrant groups in Canada indicate greater barriers to access, as well as the possibility of more traditional gender roles. It is reasonable to expect that women in ethnic communities will be even more disproportionately represented in caregiving roles than women in the general population. At the lower income levels, which disproportionately include newer immigrants especially racialized groups, the impact on women is even greater.

“Family caregivers across the world are ‘pillars’ of the community, and require our support” says Porter. The fact that caregiving responsibilities disproportionately fall on a group of people who are already socio-economically disadvantaged cannot bode well for either the caregivers or the care recipients.

CARP calls on governments to acknowledge they care about the pillars of our communities by committing to a National Caregiver Strategy that includes financial support, workplace protection, integration with the formal health care system as well as outreach initiatives to women and visible minorities.

New survey reveals seniors avoiding assistive devices even when at risk for serious injury

VANCOUVER, Mar 23, 2009 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) —-National PSA featuring “Charlie Farquharson” uses humour to tackle issue

A recent IPSOS-Reid survey commissioned by the BC Institute of Technology’s Living Laboratory, found that seven-in-ten Canadian seniors report having a mobility or health issue that reduces their quality of life due to a physical limitation and that in many cases increases their risk of falling. However, 46 per cent of them do not use an assistive device (cane, walker, scooter, etc).

Most notably, while 96 per cent of all seniors surveyed felt that assistive devices (ADs) are a good way to prevent falls, the majority (63%) of those who reported having a fall in the past year (20%) do not use an AD. Falls are known to reduce life expectancy for seniors by 25 per cent and cost the Canadian health care system an estimated $1 billion annually (Public Health Agency of Canada).

The results reveal there is a significant discrepancy between seniors’ need to adopt ADs when early warning signs appear and their willingness to do so.

“In our work with seniors, we’ve observed that they often delay using assistive devices too long even when it is clear that they need them because they fear the device will stigmatize them as being old and vulnerable,” affirms Christine Flegal, Research Head, BCIT Living Laboratory.

The survey indicated that two-thirds of seniors believe AD usage is a threat to their security. However, according to Statistics Canada, seniors are in fact, the least likely to be targeted for crime. In 2004, 9.5 per cent in the 65-plus population as opposed to 28 per cent in the 15 to 24 years of age population were victims of at least one reported crime.

A third of seniors also believe that using ADs makes them appear “old and frail”, and indicates that they are “losing their independence”. Even among those seniors who have a medical condition that could affect their mobility, only 25 per cent currently use an AD (20% of the overall Canadian senior population).

To combat the stigma seniors feel about AD usage, BCIT’s Living Lab is launching this month a new 30-second Public Service Announcement featuring one of Canada’s most recognized and beloved seniors, Don Harron in character as his alter-ego “Charlie Farquharson”. Made famous on the long-running US Television show “Hee Haw”, Charlie’s appeal is strong with this audience and he delivers to fellow seniors a ‘tough love’ message with humour intended to help keep them mobile, independent and safe. The PSA also offers a free phone number (1-888-441-0771) and a web site where seniors and their families can access more information. It is www.bcit.ca/mobility.

“We wanted to tackle this problem head-on by enlisting the help of a well-known senior who can bring the topic of stigma out into the open,” said Flegal. “Using Charlie’s ‘tough love’ message delivered with humour, the goal of this campaign is to help seniors access the right information and most importantly to help them embrace their age and take the necessary steps to maintain their independence, safety and quality of life for as long as possible.”

Flegal, a gerontologist is visiting the following cities to talk about the Mobility: Now you’re going places program and the PSA:

Cane & Disable – Class teaches seniors how to use their walking aids as weapons

Cane and disable CANE-FU: Class teaches seniors how to use their walking aids as weapons.

Pay no mind to the groans that come with stretching, to hair that is grey or gone altogether. Ignore the cautiousness of their steps and the canes in their hands.

These seniors are ready to fight.

A rainbow of martial arts belts dangles above the mirror along one wall of this small dojo; swords, nunchuks and sickles hang near the front. Punching bags and torso targets line the room, but they’ll need none of these. Their weapons are their canes. At the helm of the class is one of the country’s most recognized cane fighters, Mark Shuey, a slight man who, at 62, has hair and skin starting to show signs of age. He has travelled from Lake Tahoe, Nev., to teach this group of 16 how to protect themselves from attackers. He calls it Cane-Fu.

Cane fighting classes have popped up all over the United States, in part due to the influence of Cane Masters, the company Shuey founded that sells canes made of harder, thicker wood to sustain wear and wider crooks to fit around an attacker’s neck. Now, it’s being offered at dojos and increasingly in senior centres and retirement communities.

“You don’t have to be powerful, you don’t have to be fast,” said Gary Hernandez, who runs the dojo here northeast of Tampa where the session was held and where he teaches cane-fighting classes himself. “It’s a piece of hard wood. It hurts.”

The session starts simply enough, with seniors gathered on the red and black mat twisting this way and that, stretching with their simple wooden canes over their heads and behind their backs. They combine long rubber tension bands with their canes to do bicep curls, leg presses and chest rows — exercises aimed at keeping the seniors fit.

Fitness alone won’t ward off those who might hurt them, though, and Shuey talks briefly of recent attacks on elders. His hazel eyes look severe as he points to the cane and delivers his message. “When you put this little crook around someone’s neck, their whole attitude changes real fast,” he said. And, in a moment, Shuey shows it. With another instructor, Merle McAlpin, playing the bad guy, Shuey hooks the cane around his neck and thrusts it. The result is a guttural groan of pain from McAlpin.

When it’s time for the students to try a bit later, Shuey shouts: “Be gentle!”

In the two-hour session, participants are taught a sampling of moves to use in different situations. The cane can simply be swung in circles, used to grab a foot or neck, and fashioned into a bat or poker. Advanced techniques even show a senior how to use a cane to ward off someone with a gun or knife.

It takes years to master cane fighting like Hernandez or Shuey, but they say they can teach a senior several crucial moves in an hour. Perhaps more importantly, though, it gives them confidence that can help them escape a dangerous situation.

“You don’t think about carrying it other than for somebody who needs help,” said 63-year-old Joan Kirkman, a nurse from Zephyrhills. “But after taking this class, you realize you could do so much more with it.”

It isn’t an entirely new use for the cane. In ancient Rome and Egypt, canes were used as weapons.

In the 13th century, swinging a cane before a member of royalty would assure your beheading. In the 17th century, canes required a permit.

“Things changed 200 or 300 years ago. You don’t want to take a cane to a gunfight, so the cane became a crutch and it’s been visualized as that for the last couple hundred years,” Shuey said.

“Today, when you carry a cane, they think you’re a gimp.”

Vic Cushing, 68, of Roaring Brook, Pa., has twice used a cane to defend himself. Once, in London, he said he simply pushed his cane into the chest of the aggressive man approaching him. Another time, in New York, he hit his potential mugger, who then hobbled away.

“I just smacked his legs a bunch of times and his legs gave out,” he said.

Most of the day’s participants — all but two of them are men — don’t use a cane regularly, but after seeing its defensive potential, at least a few were considering it.

“You just don’t realize how much pain you could put on somebody really quick,” said 61- year-old Ed Smoak of Pinellas Park.

“Nobody thinks of a cane as being any kind of an impressive weapon but even a person like me — I’m disabled, like I said I don’t move real well — and even me, I could do this.”

Seniors will be hurt by The Ontario Home Energy Act- Bill 150

To the editor:

Seniors will be hurt by the Ontario Home Energy Act- Bill 150, which is currently in Second Reading in the Ontario Legislature. This Act, if passed, will require all Ontario residents who are selling their homes to have a Home Energy Audit performed to and make the results of that audit available for interested buyers. This will create a hardship on seniors more so than the general population. Seniors who wish to sell their home and use its equity to fund their ongoing living expenses, will more often live in a home built prior to 1980. This was before energy conservation initiatives became part of Ontario Building Code. These homes will more often than not be less energy efficient than more modern homes. Forcing seniors to fund an audit in addition to either financing an update to the energy efficiency of the home or alternatively discounting the price of the home, will be a financial setback they can hardly afford at this time in their lives. Furthermore the current 483 licensed home efficiency auditors are not enough to keep up with the 200,000 plus home sales in Ontario annually, making it harder for seniors who must make their move due to health or social consequences to comply and sell their home. I support assisting Ontario hom eowners to make their homes more energy efficient by having the taxpayer help fund “voluntary energy audits”. Forcing seniors through legislation, after the economy-driven erosion of savings, to realize less equity from their home is unfair and comes at the poorest possible time.

Barry Gordon

Broker of Record
Gordon’s Estate Services

‘Smart Houses’ may keep seniors at home longer

Soon, their own homes could help keep seniors with dementia safe, reminding them with a friendly voice to turn off the tap or to shut off the stove if they forget, says a British researcher.

The “smart” home system was designed “to enable a person with dementia to have a bit more control over their lives and to stay where they want to stay, which is in their own homes where their memories are and where they feel comfortable until such time as they really do need a lot of detailed care,” says Roger Orpwood, director of the Bath Institute of Medical Engineering.

His system — there are similar ideas in development elsewhere — was presented Wednesday in a mock-up living environment at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s ‘Pioneers 09′ showcase in London. It’s the latest in a string of technological innovations confronting the challenges of an aging population, from preserving independence to connecting with the outside world.

Orpwood’s design can be retrofitted to individual homes or retirement residences, he says, and includes a series of sensors that keep track of running taps, appliances left on or residents wandering near the exit at unusual times of day. The system offers auditory reminders when it senses something awry, he says, and although the researchers were warned that using a family member’s disembodied voice might be confusing for people with dementia, the response has been encouraging.

“It’s trying to influence their behaviour, and we found what works best is the voice of someone they trust, a personal (caregiver) that’s close to them,” Orpwood says.

The system also will call or send text messages to a family member if the resident wanders outside in the middle of the night, if the stove has to be automatically shut off or if the senior shows signs of nighttime restlessness or anxiety.

Orpwood says the as-yet unnamed system should be available widely within a few years, and estimates economies of scale could push the cost down to about $4,500 from the current $18,000 price tag in prototype form.

“The new generation of telecare that’s coming into the marketplace now aims to do a lot of things a good neighbour would do,” says Andrew Sixsmith, director of Simon Fraser University’s Gerontology Research Centre, adding that “telecare” refers to any communications technology that helps people live independently.

The European Union has invested “gobs” of money in research but Canada lags behind, he says, even though these devices can keep people in their own homes longer and delay the move into costly assisted-living facilities.

SFU’s research centre is a partner in an “ambient assisted living environment” project that monitors people’s medication and even motivates them to exercise with the help of reminder phone calls and an animated avatar on TV, Sixsmith says. Another project monitors people’s daily movements — providing information on their health and state of mind — with a thermal imaging sensor that’s less invasive than a video camera.

“Living many miles away from an elderly parent is a source of guilt for many people,” says Sixsmith. “It’s a source of worry and concern, and systems which can help people stay connected — even if it’s just to keep an eye on someone from a long distance — that’s a big thing, just to know that your elderly parent is OK.”

Technology also can be harnessed to increase quality of life, he says, as with his team’s design for a simple music player that starts when its lid is flipped open like a music box. A flashing sign asks ‘Would you like to listen to music?’ and prompts people with dementia who might otherwise forget the device’s purpose or their own enjoyment of it, Sixsmith says.

Orpwood’s team in the U.K., meanwhile, is working on a system called Window on the World, which uses remote cameras and a radio link to provide housebound seniors with a live view of a city street or even into their children’s homes.

“If somebody is stuck in their home, feeling isolated from their family and community, then there are ways technology can support that and enable them to have that sense of engagement and belonging,” Orpwood says.

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

Elder Abuse – A very real and very scary subject

On Wednesday, March 4^th Cathy Gordon and Allyson James, both Estate Services Co-Coordinators at Gordon’s Estate Services, attended the Forum on Elder Abuse at the Italo-Canadian Club. The Kingston Whig Standard published an article on the forum, which you can read below:

http://thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1463328

Here are Cathy and Allyson’s thoughts about the Forum on Elder Abuse.

We enjoyed 3 diverse speakers. Judith Wahl, Director Advocacy Centre for The Elderly, and Arlene Groh from the Waterloo Region Committee on Elder Abuse, both spoke to us about the importance of setting up a network of services to support seniors. Each of these women was instrumental in setting up and working within these service centres in their areas. They talked about the various issues that seniors encounter, and reinforced that we all are responsible for making sure these issues are brought into awareness and that there is a system in place so that the seniors can get support and assistance. Systemic, Power Of Attorney, physical, sexual, financial, neglect and metal abuse are all forms of abuse.

Detective Cathie Griffin, Seniors Crime Investigator with the Elder Abuse Initiative in the Halton Region, spoke to us from her first hand experience dealing with calls from relatives, friends, neighbours, or seniors themselves reporting signs of some kind of abuse. She was extremely informative about our responsibilities to these people. We need to give seniors information on where they can get assistance, and in all cases listen to what they have to say. Don`t ever assume what they are saying isn`t true. Dig deeper and find out what`s happening.

This is a very real and very scary subject. We would all like to think that this doesn`t happen, and especially doesn`t happen in our community, but unfortunately it does. Unlike the incidence of child abuse, where all citizens are compelled legally to report even suspected abuse, there is no such legislation regarding abuse of senior adults. We need to create awareness and we need to provide a safe environment so seniors who are dealing with any form of abuse can talk to someone they trust and get assistance.

The forum was a building block for Southeastern Ontario trying to get professionals and seniors together in a room and learn what services we have available in our region and what we can do to build on this. All seniors need to be treated with honesty, compassion and with a great deal of respect! We hope that this movement continues to move forward and that Southeastern Ontario builds a strong group of care and support workers to help victims of all forms of abuse.