Caregivers provide 70% of the care provided to patients; however, are often not recognized, supported or valued members of the care team. Despite the healthcare system relying heavily on caregivers to care for patients, and the benefits of caregivers on patient health outcomes and system performance, healthcare providers often do not engage with caregivers. The Caregivers as Partners eLearning Suite enables healthcare providers and staff to better support and apply the principles of family inclusion and patient and family-centred care to improve the caregiver experience, and patient and health system outcomes. The Caregivers as Partners original series provides practical and tangible learnings on how to engage, support and empower caregivers to ultimately become partners in care. The Caregivers as Partners Mental Health & Addiction series equips healthcare providers with practical skills and resources to improve their interactions with caregivers caring for someone living with mental illness and/or addiction. Participants will be able to incorporate what they learn immediately within their own practice and bring back a model ready for integration within their organization or health care team.
Presenters and slide deck
Katie Muirhead
Working collaboratively with caregivers and community stakeholders, Katie aspires to develop and deliver meaningful information and support to caregivers across Ontario. Katie has diverse lived experience as a caregiver including supporting loved ones with mental health and addictions, Autism Spectrum Disorders and other neurological conditions. Her background as a Behaviour Therapist, offering clinical support to families across the province has helped to gain a greater insight into the needs of caregivers and their loved ones. Katie is a life-long learner always seeking to better understand the needs of the people she supports through meaningful engagement, listening and learning by sharing stories and experiences.
Key Learnings
- In Ontario there are 3.3 million caregivers. 17% of those are young caregivers; people 25 and younger providing unpaid caregiving to family, friends and partners. Caregivers are the backbone of the health care system.
- Caregivers are providing 70% of the care to patients, yet caregivers say they don’t often feel like recognized, supported or valued members of the care team. Despite the healthcare system relying heavily on caregivers to care for patients, and the benefits of caregivers on patient health outcomes and system performance, healthcare providers often do not engage with caregivers.
- The Caregivers as Partners eLearning Suite enables healthcare providers and staff to better support and apply the principles of family inclusion and patient and family-centred care to improve the caregiver experience, and patient and health system outcomes. By highlighting how small tangible changes in behaviour, communication and practice can be meaningful, the eLearning fosters a shared understanding of the importance of, and how to effectively partner with caregivers.