A double-duty caregiver is a  health-care worker who also provides care outside of work to a family member or friend who is ill, disabled or frail. Juggling care at work and at home can be very stressful. Dr. Jasneet Parmar, a professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta, and her research team want to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic and double-duty caregiving has impacted Canadian health-care providers’ caregiving and work experiences.

We think that double-duty caregiving in COVID-19 may have had a significant impact on double-duty caregivers’ health and well-being. A small, mixed-methods study involved a survey for employers (n=29) and interviews with double-duty caregivers (n=16) found that health-care providers who work in health care and also care for an ill, frail or disabled family member or friend at home without pay are:

1. Experiencing an increased care load, working greater hours, and have increased fears of safety, resulting in physical and emotional strain
2. Unable to access support networks and services that supported their care tasks due to COVID-19, resulting in double-duty caregivers’ high care-load, stress level and burnout.

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Dr. Jasneet  Parmar and her team from the University of Alberta are inviting all Canadian health-care providers who are also family caregivers to complete a survey on the secure REDCap survey platform. It will take you about 20 minutes to complete. The link to the survey is https://redcap.ualberta.ca/surveys/?s=JTPYHL9DFY3EWXEN.

Dr. Parmar and her team are using validated scales – Double-Duty Caregiving Scale, DeJong-Gierveld Loneliness Scale, and The Six-Item State Anxiety Scale (a validated short-form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), which will allow them to compare results of this study after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic with pre-pandemic results on the same scales. The study has been approved by the University of Alberta Health Research Ethics Board – Study Number: Pro00117700.

For more information or if you have questions, please contact Dr. Sharon Anderson by email at sdanders@ualberta.ca or text (780) 953-5541.

Dr. Jasneet Parmar and her research team from the University of Alberta and University of Calgary are conducting a research study to determine how the current COVID-19 pandemic has impacted family caregivers in Alberta.

In the United Kingdom, the pandemic has increased family caregivers work by 10 hours per week. Dr. Parmar and her team would like to explore if the COVID-19 protocols have had a similar impact on family caregivers in Alberta and hopefully identify areas where we can learn from this experience and better inform pandemic planning in the future.

We invite you to complete this short survey about your experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. It should only take about 20 minutes to complete.

Western University is looking for volunteers to participate in a study about how caregivers use digital technology to care for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia-related diseases. To participate in the study, individuals must be:

• A family/friend caregiver to someone with Alzheimer’s Disease or a dementia-related disease
• Providing a minimum of four hours of caregiving per week
• 18 years of age or older

If you are a family caregiver for an older person who’s living with dementia in a long-term care facility, we want to help. The University of Alberta is conducting a study to find out the best way to support family caregivers as they experience significant changes.

We are looking for participants who are family caregivers, age 18 and older, caring for a family member or friend age 65 and older, who has dementia and is living in long-term care.

To participate, call Hannah O’Rourke toll-free at 1-877-692-5909 or email care.support@ualberta.ca.

The University Health Network is calling all current or former young caregivers!

Are you between the ages of 16 and 25? Are you now, or in the past, caring for a family member?

Researchers want to work with you in this co-design workshop to identify innovative solutions for young caregivers engaging with the health-care system while supporting their family members.

This opportunity allows young caregivers to make their voices heard and connect with others in similar situations.

As a thank you for your time, you will receive an honorarium.

For more information, please contact Marianne Saragosa via email: marianne.saragosa@uhn.ca.

Please note that communication via e-mail is not absolutely secure. Thus, please do not communicate personal/sensitive information via e-mail.

The University of Alberta is seeking caregivers of older adults (65+) as research participants!

Are you interested in how smart-home technology can help your loved one age in place?

• Help choose what kinds of devices you think would help keep your loved ones safe
• See some of the devices they want to test out
• Give your thoughts and feelings on how you would like to help your loved ones age in their own homes

Caregivers of older adults (65+) who are interested in using smart-home technologies:

We would like to invite you to an online focus group, to provide your thoughts and opinions on using smart-home technology to monitor your loved one’s health and allow them to age in their own home.

To participate, contact Andrew Chan via email: aychan1@ualberta.ca.

Participants needed for interviews by Concordia University!

Are you:

• A palliative patient or their caregiver?
• Having a stressful time navigating the AHS health-care system?

If so, please consider participating. Researchers will use your valuable insights to improve the quality of life of palliative patients and their caregivers.

For more information, contact Valerie Awua at (587) 974-7680.

Siblings Canada and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health are partnering on this survey on how organizations that provide services to adults living with disabilities support their typically developing siblings. The short survey (20 questions) will be used to better guide and inform how the sibling caregivers of adults with disabilities are served.

To participate you must be employed by a service agency.