Press Releases

Talking about it – or not?

– Boomers and their aging parents not aligned on the care parents require and more –

Mississauga, Ontario, June 9, 2009 – According to a new study released by Ipsos-Reid, surprising differences of opinion exist between adult children and their aging parents. The study, sponsored by Bayshore Home Health, talked to older Canadians aged 65-85 as well as people aged 40-64 who have at least one parent living.

According to the 2nd annual Living for Today – Ready for Tomorrow survey, seniors and their boomer children claim it’s not that difficult to talk about a variety of topics such as personal finances, aging, funeral arrangements, care and more. Despite these claims, one quarter of adult children said they avoid speaking to parents about difficult topics while one in five parents say they do the same. When it comes right down to it, the two groups are not aligned on many issues.

“The survey provides a unique snapshot of seniors and their families,” says Holly Quinn, chief nursing officer with Bayshore Home Health. “By speaking to adult children as well as aging parents we were able to get a perspective on each age group as well as family dynamics.”

Adult children are more likely to say their parent needs help with activities such as grocery shopping, travelling to appointments and companionship. Close to four in ten adult children surveyed say their parent needs help in these areas versus just six per cent of seniors. The same kind of misperceptions exist around seniors’ need for nursing care, meal preparation, housekeeping, eating, dressing and bathing.

“It’s hard to say why these differences exist,” admits Quinn. “Either adult children perceive their parents as more frail than they actually are or seniors are trying to put on a brave face – or a bit of both.”

According to Quinn, experience has shown her that seniors are afraid to introduce the idea of outside help with family members. “Their greatest fear is that they’ll be put into a nursing home,” she says. “They’re really hoping that they’ll be okay, they’ll stay healthy and then die peacefully in their sleep.”

Seniors don’t seem to understand how much their children worry about them, according to the study. Fewer than 50% of seniors think their children or younger members of their family worry about their health. Yet nine out of ten boomers would receive peace of mind knowing their parent is getting regular check-ups from a health-care professional.

Adult children also have misperceptions about the steps their parents have taken to live independently. One in ten believe their parent has placed themselves on a waiting list for an assisted living facility or nursing home while just three per cent of people aged 65 to 85 claim to have actually done so.

When it comes to personal finances, one-quarter of adult children don’t know their parent’s annual income. In addition, adult children over-estimate the impact the recent economic crisis has had on their parent’s ability to pay for medication and other expenses. Just 17% of seniors say the economy has impacted their ability to pay versus 30% of adult children who believe it has.

“We’re hoping that the survey findings will prompt Canadian families to take steps to ensure they are understanding the real needs of their aging parents,” concludes Quinn.

About Bayshore Home Health

Bayshore Home Health has been enhancing the quality of life, dignity and independence of Canadians in their homes since 1966. Canadian owned and operated, it is the country’s largest provider of home and community health care services, with more than 40 home care offices, 20 community care clinics and 8,000 employees. Its core services are in-home nursing, personal care and home support – which can be purchased directly by individuals and also accessed through government care programs, personal and group insurance plans and workplace safety insurance. Its caregivers deliver more than 5.2 million hours of home care annually to over 57,000 clients. It also provides nurse/caregiver staffing services, health education programs and treatments in its dialysis centres. Its subsidiary, Bayshore Specialty Rx, offers infusion pharmacy, infusion clinic and pharmaceutical support services to a variety of health care and pharmaceutical organizations.

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For more information please contact Polaris Public Relations Inc.: Shelley Pringle, 416.597.1518 or Holly Roy, 780.470.5300

* These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted for Bayshore Home Health from February 10 to February 17, 2009. The poll was conducted via telephone among 1,000 adult Canadians between the ages of 65 and 85 inclusive and 1,001 adult Canadians between the ages of 40 and 64 inclusive. For each sample group the margin of error is + 3.1%, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults aged 40 to 64 and 65 to 85 in Canada been interviewed.