Study on care households: The “forgotten of the pandemic”

Scared and forgotten – this is how most caregivers and caregivers felt at home during the pandemic, according to a new study. As a consequence, the social association VdK calls for an emergency plan for future crises.

What some already suspected is now proven in a study: People in need of care and their relatives have suffered a lot in the past few months. Many fears dominated everyday life. “In the past few months, the loneliness and fear of infection have been a major burden for people,” explains Verene Bentele, President of the Social Association VdK.

Two thirds of the mostly older people worried that their care situation could worsen – for example, if the helpers they depend on become infected and become ill. As a result, 81 percent of those in need of care and 87 percent of their relatives avoided contact with third parties outside their own household. Bentele says:

Isolation is a very difficult situation for those affected because they can no longer exchange ideas, because they have no other topic of conversation than the situation at home and everyday life.

Exchange important for relief

Exactly the exchange, in order to maybe get a little encouragement and to talk about a completely different topic, is important in order to get some relief. But many opportunities for relief, such as day care, have disappeared in many places in recent months.

Workshops for people with disabilities also had to close. Over 70 percent of those surveyed felt that they were under severe psychological stress – with permanent health consequences.

VdK calls for a crisis and disaster plan

The social association VdK demands a crisis and disaster plan from the government, according to which, in emergencies, for example, municipalities should ensure the supply at home. Bentele says: “If a pandemic comes and offers are no longer available, a backup is needed. Then the municipalities need offers that are available, for example.”

There must also be more financial support for relatives: for example, everyone is entitled to care leave with wage replacement and, above all, a higher care allowance with which those affected can pay support services.

Demands for higher care allowance

“We want to sue for a higher care allowance, if need be up to the Federal Constitutional Court,” said Bentele. The federal government must adhere to its own rules. In 2020 there was already a review of the care allowance. It was then determined that it would first have to be increased by five percent “in order to compensate for inflation, so to speak. That did not happen.”

More than three million people would benefit from it, so many are cared for at home – in most cases by relatives alone.