Why do some caregivers not make greater use of professional help?

According to research carried out by BPCE L’Observatoire into the role played by caregivers in society, 44% of the people looking after their loved ones do so without calling on the assistance of professionals: domestic helpers, home-based carers or care assistants.

The first reason given for this is the desire to take care of their loved ones themselves, and a refusal to delegate this task to a third party. But the reason for not making use of professional caregivers can also be a lack of financial resources (“it’s too expensive” for 29% of the respondents in the survey) and the difficulty of “finding a trustworthy person” (28%).

But it is frequently vital to call on the services of professional helpers to allow caregivers to enjoy a moment of respite, to enable them to respond more effectively in emergencies, and to preserve the dignity of care recipients vis-à-vis their relatives by not requiring family members to carry out certain tasks of an intimate nature. The BPCE L’Observatoire study also shows that certain impossible situations can be resolved by the contribution of professional caregivers, key players in the ecosystem set up around individuals receiving care. It is important to create, and subsequently to preserve, this balance between a number of different players.

“Le temps des aidants” (BPCE L’Observatoire)