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Extending the hand of technology to caregivers
May 22, 2001
By Kristin Duare McKinnon
Three organizations in Ontario are taking part in a new and exciting initiative, Outreach to Informal Caregivers: A Virtual Support System. Spearheaded by the Canadian Association for Community Care and its partners, this project strives to empower caregivers through technology - and will develop and test a practical model for supporting them through the computer and Internet.
It is estimated that about three million people in Canada are informal caregivers - working at home to care for an ill or aging family member and often providing 24-hour care. These caregivers make up a vital part of the health care system yet are often invisible - their contributions unseen and unacknowledged - until a crisis arises and they are no longer able to care for their loved ones.
A study by the Ontario Council of Seniors Citizens' Organizations has shown that caregivers most need emotional support, information and referral, and a number of practical services, such as respite, home care, and homemaking. According to Statistics Canada, more than half of all caregivers say that they need help to cope with their duties. Yet, caregivers often work in isolation - the very nature of the care they provide preventing them from reaching out for assistance. The goal of Outreach to Informal Caregivers: A Virtual Support System is to develop and test how we can overcome these barriers and support caregivers' needs through resources available on and through the internet.

The Project
Resources that could be explored during this project include connections to the Internet, email based support networks, a 1-800 help number, online databases of local services, and access to experts. The difference between this project and the many caregiver sites already on the web is that this project is about helping caregivers to become aware of the possibilities of technology to help them - for some who have never used a computer, let alone with Internet access.
This project was envisioned by the Canadian Association for Community Care (CACC) and is funded by the Office of Learning Technologies, Human Resources Development Canada. Through the Project Advisory Committee overseeing this initiative, many important partners are working with CACC - including the Ontario Community Support Association, the Ontario Association for Community Care Access Centres, Caregiver Network Inc., and Community Information Toronto. An external evaluator from Brighton Research is also involved.
The project will be piloted in three Ontario locations, representing urban, rural and northern experiences respectively - Toronto (Family Service Association of Toronto), the City of Kawartha Lakes [formerly known as Victoria County] (Community Care Victoria County), and Thunder Bay (Community Care Access Centre - Thunder Bay District). In each location, a local advisory committee will guide and promote the initiative. Each local advisory committee will include a staff member from the local organization, an experienced informal caregiver, a technical Internet advisor, and representatives from community agencies serving seniors and their caregivers. For example, in the City of Kawartha Lakes, representatives from the local Alzheimers Society, Palliative Care, Volunteer Centre, Community Access Program, hospital and Access Centre sit on the advisory committee.

The Process
With the support of the project and local advisory committees, each pilot site will recruit twenty caregivers to take part. The project goal is to recruit those who are caring for vulnerable seniors and feeling isolation because of their caregiving responsibilities. Caregivers will be screened and placed in one of two groups based on their computer and Internet skills.
The caregivers will then be guided through introductions to the computer and Internet based on their skill levels. Support will be as pragmatic as necessary - obtaining computer hardware, accessing the internet, taking part in training, and finding resources on the web, for example.
Because this is a pilot project - and caregivers will shape the outcome - we cannot know where this work will take us. This will truly be a learning experience for everyone involved. Evaluation is a vital part of this project, and is built into every stage. Feedback from caregivers will guide the very course of this initiative, as well as its outcome. The Project and Local advisory committees will also be included in the review process.
It is our hope that at the end of this project (currently set for August 2002), we will know what a successful "virtual support system" for informal caregivers looks like - and how to sustain it. We strive to establish the building blocks for such a system on the local, and perhaps provincial and national levels. Outreach to Informal Caregivers: A Virtual Support System offers an unique and exciting opportunity - to learn, to grow, to expand our idea and definition of service and support -while on the cutting edge of human services technology.
For more information please contact:
Nationally
Ann Hargest
Canadian Association for Community Care
(613) 241-7510
Email: hargest@magma.ca
URL: www.cacc-acssc.com
City of Kawartha Lakes
Kristin McKinnon
Community Care Victoria County
(705) 277-3262
Email: krisbruce@sympatico.ca
Thunder Bay
Tuija Puiras or Vern Cameron
Community Care Access Centre, District of Thunder Bay
(807) 345-7339
Email: Tuija.Puiras@ccac-tb.on.ca
URL: www.ccac-tb.on.ca
Toronto
Lisa Manuel
Family Service Association of Toronto
(416) 977 0559 ext 333
Email: LisaMa@FSATORONTO.com
URL: www.fsatoronto.com