Health. National Caregivers' Day: A Meaningful Life That Impacts Their Physical and Mental Health

In France, nearly 30% of adults are caregivers. They support a loved one who is losing their independence due to age, illness, or disability.

On the occasion of National Carers Day, pharmaceutical company Astellas is releasing a survey* on the role of these essential supports, both logistically and psychologically. While this role is meaningful, it also has serious consequences for physical and mental health, personal and professional life.

Not sufficiently included in the care pathway

According to the survey, while 86% of caregivers believe this role gives meaning to their lives, 40% say it harms their physical health and 42% their mental health. Specifically, 47% of female caregivers deplore the impact on their mental health, compared to 35% of men.

Feelings of isolation, abandonment, and being unable to count on anyone but themselves are widely shared among caregivers. Discomfort is also present when it comes to healthcare professionals. 62% of caregivers regret that the latter do not include them in their loved one's care pathway, and the majority demand to be better informed.

Their personal balance is largely undermined, with consequences for their social life, their relationship or love life, and their professional life. "The closer the person they care for, the stronger this feeling," the survey highlights. 66% of them also feel they are missing out on their lives. 32% are waiting for official recognition of their role. 44% are asking for more human and psychological support, 43% for material and financial assistance, and 37% for administrative support.

For a real status of family caregiver

Official recognition is also what many associations are fighting for. Thus, Vaincre la mucoviscidose calls for the creation of a genuine family carer status, "with clear and protective rights, and in particular the establishment of an obligation to maintain and adapt employment and, more generally, the employment of family carers, based on the model of the obligation to employ disabled workers." It also advocates for the fulfillment of carer's leave and its associated allowance in order to guarantee carers the possibility of reconciling their family and professional responsibilities without falling into precariousness.

* OpinionWay survey for Asetellas carried out from September 10 to 22 among a sample of 600 caregivers, from a sample of 2,186 people, representative of the French population aged 18 and over.