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To Pay or Not to Pay: Examining Underlying Principles in the Debate on Financial Support for Family Caregivers*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

Janice Keefe  and
Beth Rajnovich
Janice Keefe*
Affiliation:
Nova Scotia Centre on Aging
Beth Rajnovich
Affiliation:
Mount Saint Vincent University
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to:/Les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à: Janice Keefe, Ph.D., Department of Family Studies and Gerontology, Mount Saint Vincent University, 166 Bedford Highway, Halifax, NS B3M 2J6.
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Abstract

In many countries one approach to supporting family-and-friend caregivers is direct financial or monetary support. Debates about the benefits and consequences of such policies pervade the literature. Building on the premise that values underlie public policy, the paper examines four policy paradoxes in the literature and uses selected examples from an international policy analysis to illustrate the underlying objectives and values upon which many of the policies were developed. These include the responsibility to care, economic or social objectives, gender equity, and the autonomy of care receivers. The authors conclude that policy makers need to be cautious about the unintended effects of financial support policy and develop a menu of policies and services to support caregivers. Future policy development in Canada must enable legitimate choice across the life course and ensure that neither the caregiver nor the care receiver will experience short- or long-term financial consequences of his or her choice.

Résumé

De nombreux pays offrent un soutien financier ou monétaire direct aux membres de la famille ou aux amis dispensateurs de soins familiaux. Les débats sur les avantages et les désavantages de cette politique abondent dans la documentation. d'après l'hypothèse voulant que les valeurs sous-tendent les politiques publiques, l'article examine quatre paradoxes politiques relevés dans la documentation et illustre, à l'aide de certains exemples provenant d'une analyse politique internationale, les objectifs et les valeurs sur lesquels repose l'élaboration de nombre des politiques. Il s'agit de la responsabilité des soins, des objectifs économiques ou sociaux, de l'équité de genre, et de l'autonomie des bénéficiaires de soins. Les auteurs mettent en garde les décideurs au sujet des effets pervers d'une politique de soutien financier et proposent des programmes et des services destinés à appuyer les dispensateurs de soins. La politique futur au Canada doit permettre des choix appropriés tout au long de la vie et faire en sorte que ni le dispensateur de soins, ni le bénéficiaire des soins, n'éprouveront de difficultés financières à court ou à long terme en raison de leur choix.

Keywords

agingfamily caregiversgenderpolicypayment for careinternationalvieillissementdispensateurs de soins familiauxgenrepolitiquerétribuer les soinsinternational
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 26 , Issue S1: Hidden Costs/Invisible Contributions of Caregiving / Coûts cachés et contributions invisibles des soins , Winter/Hiver 2007 , pp. 77 - 89
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2007

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Footnotes

*

Funding for this paper was received from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council as part of the Hidden Costs/Invisible Contributions Project: The Marginalization of Dependent Adults.

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