Care | Future lives
Future Lives video series
Transcription
Unpaid caregivers may be providing up to 75% of care in Canada. Women perform the majority of care work in the home, sacrificing paid work more often than men.
The current shortage of paid and unpaid caregivers is expected to worsen in the coming decades.
The shortage is partly being addressed through new technologies, plans for expanded long-term care, and accelerated care training programs.
How might care systems evolve to better meet people’s needs in the future?
As people start families later, the next generation may take on eldercare responsibilities at a younger age.
Younger caregivers could face a lifetime of reduced income due to frequent workforce exits, missed promotions, and foregone retirement benefits.
Caregiving earlier in life might also delay education and relationships, leading to setbacks across the life course.
As lifespans lengthen, chronic diseases and disabilities are becoming more common.
This could mean longer periods of care, prolonged financial strain, and changes to older caregivers’ retirement plans.
What new institutions and social structures might emerge to support the caregivers of the future?
How might people receive consistent, high-quality care in the future?
What does this mean for the life course?
