Find global answers from caregivers, ranging from the impact on family and personal life, to support systems and compounded pandemic pressures.
Kantar asked caregivers about their experiences and the impact caregiving had on their lives during the pandemic. Explore global findings here.
Globally, 49% of caregivers are caring for more than one person that is not their child, as high as 63% in India and 62% in France.
Over half are caring for a parent (52%) and over a third for a spouse or partner (37%). Two thirds of caregivers share responsibilities with others (66%).
Globally, 18% of the caregivers interviewed were not doing so pre-pandemic. Brazil has the highest proportion of new caregivers (28%) whilst India (5%) and China have the lowest numbers of people who were not caregivers before the pandemic.
Six out of 10 respondents who became caregivers in the past 18 months were not influenced by the pandemic. Europeans were the least influenced, with only a quarter of Germans reporting that the pandemic had an influence on their decision to become a caregiver.
Globally, the greatest influence on those respondents who became caregivers because of the pandemic was facility concerns due to COVID-19. This is seen for 9 out of 10 of new caregivers and is evenly split across full-time (45%) and part-time (46%) caregivers. However, it is higher for caregivers who are not parents (54%) in comparison to those who are parents (42%).
The greatest positive impact felt by caregivers has been having more quality time with the person they care for, with relatively even results regardless of being full-time or part-time or parents or non-parents.
However, the negative impact felt by caregivers is that it has made life more stressful and taken away time for their own self-care due to their responsibilities of looking after others.
For parents who are also caregivers, the negative impacts of home-schooling were similar to those of parents without care-giving responsibilities. However, the negative impacts were heightened.
Globally, 26% found the addition of homeschooling made routines hard or more stressful, 7% higher than parents without care-giving duties. Also, home-schooling created feelings of resentment 6% more in parents with care-giving duties.
The greatest disparity found in the study is that whilst 30% of home-schooling parents report that home-schooling had no negative impact on their well-being, only 17% of caregivers felt the same.
Globally, 87% of caregivers interviewed have felt supported by their family. 72% have felt supported by their employer and the same amount by government or professional resources.
