Abstract
Family caregivers are unsung heroes of Alberta's healthcare system, providing essential care to individuals with chronic illnesses, disabilities, and age-related challenges. An estimated 26% of Albertans provide unpaid caregiving, contributing millions of hours annually—work valued at $11 billion, about one-third of Alberta’s health spending. Family caregivers increasingly take on complex medical tasks traditionally performed by healthcare professionals, including managing equipment, administering medications, wound care, and catheter maintenance, often with little formal training or support. This is similar to other health systems.
Beyond medical care, caregivers foster well-being, dignity, and social connections, enabling individuals with physical and mental illnesses, disabilities, and frailty to live meaningful lives. Their involvement improves safety, care quality, and continuity, benefiting care recipients and healthcare systems. Despite their indispensable contributions, caregivers often face emotional, physical, and financial challenges undermining their well-being and the quality of care they provide.
Based on caregiver surveys, interviews exploring their challenges, and co-design principles, we call for a paradigm shift: family caregivers must be recognized and supported as integral partners in the health system and in "health neighborhoods"—future integrated care systems combining health, social, and community services.
Healthy All Around: Family caregivers bridge gaps in Alberta's fragmented care continuum, addressing medical and non-medical needs. With half their challenges being non-medical, supports beyond traditional health services are essential. Practical solutions include training providers in Caregiver-Centered Care, integrating health, social, and community services, and offering respite care, mental health services, and caregiver education. These resources help caregivers maintain well-being while continuing to care for Albertans. We showcase scalable, proven models promoting universal access to integrated supports, fostering healthier communities across Alberta.
Collaborative Approaches in Integrated Care: Caregivers act as navigators and coordinators. Supporting them requires collaboration among healthcare providers, policymakers, employers, community organizations, and caregivers. Together, these partners can develop innovative solutions like flexible workplace policies, coordinated services, and caregiver-inclusive planning. These efforts reduce caregiver strain, improve outcomes, and benefit everyone—caregivers, recipients, providers, and Alberta's health systems. We highlight how partnerships empower caregivers and drive transformative change across systems.
Inclusive Health: Caregivers are diverse, but many face systemic barriers like financial hardship and limited access to culturally safe resources. Effective support is essential to reducing health and social inequities. By addressing disparities, Alberta can create an integrated care system that is inclusive and equitable for marginalized communities. We emphasize policies and practices that eliminate barriers, fostering a truly integrated approach to caregiver support.
We call on health, social, and community care leaders to act boldly: family caregivers must no longer be a hidden workforce. By adopting integrated care strategies prioritizing caregiver well-being, we can transform caregiving from an invisible burden into an enabled partnership, driving equity and excellence. Together, we can create a future where caregivers thrive, communities flourish, and integrated care delivers fairness and effectiveness.