WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) — A new study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has found that the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) among the elderly of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has exposed the fragility of the care and support systems for this group.

It said that the pandemic reveals a lack of protocols for action and prevention in home care and nursing home settings and also brings to light the unmet support needs of family and informal caregivers.

The study, titled “Age with Care: Long-Term care in Latin America and the Caribbean ” found that eight million older people in the region – 12 per cent of people over 60 and 27 per cent of people over 80 – currently depend on some sort of long-term care.

It said that this means there is at least one basic activity of daily living, like bathing, eating, or getting out of bed, that they cannot do on their own.

The study found a large majority of them are assisted by a family member, usually female. Older people are at risk of having no one to take care of them if their main caregiver falls ill or cannot visit them because of social distancing.

In the region, 14 per cent of people over 60 live alone, a figure that rises to 20 per cent for those over age 80.

“This increased burden of providing care during a pandemic and the stress it causes can take a negative toll on family caregivers’ mental and physical health. On top of this, caregivers may have additional responsibilities like childcare and more time-consuming housework.

“All of this underscores the need for care systems that encourage home care, more urgent now than ever. Also crucial are support systems for informal caregivers: training courses, emotional support, and job stability.”

The study noted that caregivers, in addition to being overworked and undertrained, are also in short supply. When a nursing home has infections, for example, staff shortages may make it impossible to take the essential step of separating those caring for the ill from those caring for healthy residents to curb the disease’s spread. The risk of infection between caregivers makes the situation worse.

The IDB study suggested that countries need to develop care systems that focus on training human resources and that place value on their work through improved job conditions, such as higher pay, formal employment, career opportunities. This is the only approach that will attract enough human resources to meet care needs.

The study projected rise in care-dependent people in the near future ushered in by the regions accelerated population aging makes taking action even more pressing.

“The number of care-dependent older people is expected to rise threefold to 27 million by 2050, tripling demand for long-term care services. At the same time, the region will also see a drop in the traditional supply of long-term care services, which are mainly provided by women in families who are not paid for this work,” the study added.