DISTANCE CARE: CHALLENGES AND POTENTIALS BEYOND NATIONAL DISTANCES AND INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARIES

Abstract

In the course of demographic dynamics, increased labor market mobility and changing family patterns caring for a family member far away becomes more of a challenge. In this context “distance caregiving” is a new and so far under researched field. The binational Distance Caregiving “DiCa” project (2016–2019) with an interdisciplinary German and Swiss research team aims to investigate different dimensions and involved parties of distance caregiving: caregivers, employers and health care services. The focus is on distance caregivers who have a national but in some cases also a cross-border long distance to overcome to identify challenges and areas of burden for these caregivers. The aim of this study is on one hand to identify strategies to help both employed and unemployed caregivers with this particular challenge and burden. On the other hand the project aims to sensitize employers and health care services so that they are able to provide adequate help and communication. In this paper, results for Germany and Switzerland from a secondary data analysis from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and the German Ageing Survey (DEAS) will be presented as well as first results from qualitative expert interviews with employers from different sectors (e.g. automobile, insurance company, healthcare institution). Supporting distance caregivers with appropriate actions and instruments is important to relieve these employees and to maintain their employability. Offering support with caregiving over a larger distance can also be seen as a strategic instrument for recruitment in the long term.