One Caregiver Two lives-Un cuidador dos vidas

Spain

01-03-2008

The several offered services aim to improve informal family carers’ quality of life, prevent their physical and psychological problems and develop techniques and skills to improve the care they provide.

As part of a national strategy, the innovative initiative intends to recognize, legitimise and enhance informal carers’ role supporting them and their dependent people.

One social fundamental driver was the about 3 million Spanish carers of older (and/or) dependent people. Many of them are alone, exposed to a great physical and psychological burden, neglect their own health and other needs and the initiative was developed due to this problematic situation to allow their informal carers to better perform with less effort.

So the main motivation is to provide specific services, information, training and support to informal carers, to improve their living conditions, quality of provided care and thus the older persons' health.

 Care Recipients
 Informal carers
 Paid assistants
 Formal carers

Not available

 Independent Living
 Information and learning for carers
 Personal Support and Social Integration for carer
 Care coordination

They are three main services:

1. La "Caixa kit": a free supporting kit of useful information for carers on: standards to better care for older people and informal carers’ quality of life; available resources in each autonomous community; knowledge of the main caregiving techniques. A reference guide in two volumes and a DVD, with tips and advice for the care process and activities for dependent cared for people. The two volumes (guidelines) were developed by different authors with analysis and reports on four basic thematic blocks: the carer, the care recipient, the environment and information and community resources on dependency.

• The first volume focuses on "Caring for the caregiver": physical and emotional aspects to improve informal carers’ physical and mental health. Contents are: performance criteria, personal and emotional sphere, family and social sphere, support to stay physically active, attitudes and communication ways, self-help groups and self-help.
• The second volume is "The person receiving care": a guide to more easily address different aspects related to the dependent’s mobility, nutrition and hygiene or the most common behavioural disorders in different dependency degrees. Contents are technical notes on: mobility and mobilization; postural care; body hygiene and dressing; feeding and swallowing; provision of basic activities daily life. This second volume, contains also a block on environment, housing and home automation, home improvements, opportunities and new technologies. Moreover the “La Caixa kit” provides specific training on housing; environment instrumental; media environments; new technologies and automation (domotic) and local authorities’ information and resources/services. Final instrument of the "La Caixa kit" is a DVD on informal carers’ experience and essential basic caring tips. The DVD is a 8-minute film on a carers’ daily life with basic suggestions to better care and relax and it is based on life testimony, are interviews with informal carers and dependent persons. The educational kit was distributed among all the Autonomous Communities of Spain, through the Councils of Social Services, local administrations, health agencies, hospitals and family associations.

2. A call centre to provide informal carers’ with guidance, information, psychological and emotional support.
3. Onsite workshops and meetings with experts, for caring training/information to compare with other cares and provide emotional/psychological support. The workshops were held during 2008 and 2009, with more than 635 sessions attended by 14.000 carers.

A personal computer and a telephone (also mobile) line.

Both public and private

Other: please specify

Public service funding: Government, Regional, Local Authorities, non-profit public entities.

Public research funding: local, regional, national, European and international funds for research, development and implementation of innovative initiatives.

Non-profit funding: charity, volunteers organisations, NGO

Not available

Not available

The initiative recognises carers’ social role improving their quality of life so it is highly appreciated from them. Given this success the chances to increase users are high.

The "A carer. Two lifes" initiative is part of the Spanish national preventive care program for dependent people and therefore has a future perspective of temporal continuity, both in terms of provided services as well as funding availability.

As highlighted in the scalability and transferability section, the initiative has a great importance in terms of policy objectives, as it supports informal carers and the cared for ones, recognizing the informal carer’s crucial role in the Spanish society so to integrate the project in the public welfare system. Therefore there weren’t any particular or critical problems developing and implementing the initiative. In addition, the implementation fully involved 17 autonomous regional governments and over 300 organizations/associations, so the project was greatly supported by local stakeholders, who in 2011 monitored and evaluated the sustainability plan to verifying the quantitative obtained results. In particular, the project involved 17 autonomous regional governments, 25 agreements were signed with 364 association/organizations, 234.143 "La Caixa kits" were distributed. Between 25.03.2008 and 29.05.2009 the call centre received 6,858 phone calls by 1.212 different users, especially for information, orientation and emotional support. The organised workshops in the 17 Spanish autonomous communities were 363, with 6,500 informal carers, aged between 46 and 76 years: 70% females and 30% males, especially spouses and children of cared for older persons, with more of 5 care daily hours. The website of “La Caixa” presents the 2012 budget regarding the whole Foundation without specific figures on the singular initiative UN CUIDADOR DOS VIDAS, so it is not possible to evaluate the initiative actual financial situation. The main 2010-2015 sustainability lines of action of "la Caixa" Foundation regarding the service are:

• Prioritize social action
• Maintain its cultural activity throughout Spain
• Maintain its educational activities aimed at social inclusion and prevention
• To improve questions of method and systems for measuring results.

€ 50,000 - 500,000

Not available

 Authorities
 Private Care Sector
 Health and Social Care Systems
 Third Sector
 Private Companies

Not available

The Obra Social Foundation La Caixa is a non-profit organisation born from the La Caixa , an important Spanish bank widespread in the whole national territory and founded for the development of the Spanish society.

 Informal Carers
 Health Professionals
 Social Care Professionals
 Privately-Hired Care Assistants (inc. Migrant Care Workers)
 Volunteers

Prestigious professionals and organizations were involved in developing the program. Professionals working within the call centre, provide information on the Guide "A caregiver. Two lives", on services and emotional support (reduction anxiety, emotional restraint). The service call centre is free of charge, operates every day from 9 to 21 and managed by the Red Cross. Professionals and experts run also the workshops which last ten hours (4 sessions of 2.30 hours in 4 weeks). CEAFA staff carried out the training courses for carers.

Not involved

5,001 - 10,000

The workshops, held between 2008 and 2009, were attended by 14.000 carers.

Main communication and promotion channels are workshops, meetings, information days and online monitoring.

Not available

Not available

Not available

Strengths:

1. Un Cuidador Dos Vidas organised face to face workshops for informal carers lasting ten hours (4 sessions of 2.30 hours in 4 weeks) combining relaxation techniques, while developing skills and resources to improve care. According to data of June 2009, 363 workshops were organised with more than 14.000 participating carers divided groups of 15 to 20 people.
2. During the implementation there has been a wide involvement of the public stakeholders and support from both non-profit sector and local autonomous governments.
3. The educational kit was largely disseminated, as it was distributed among all the Autonomous Communities of Spain, through the Councils of Social Services, local administrations, health agencies, hospitals and family associations.

Weaknesses:

1. The webpage on the initiative “One caregiver, two lives” is only in Spanish and only the general webpage, on the whole Foundation “La Caixa”, has an English version and this makes difficult the knowledge of the service by those who recognize it a good practice worth to be replicated in other contexts
2. There is no impact assessment of the initiative.

Opportunities:

1. The initiative seems to be highly appreciated and increasing, therefore, the program could and should be further developed (e.s.: with the use of other ICT based and user friendly e-learning tools and services guaranteed in the mid-long term, with their full integration into the public welfare system and providing also a similar action to support formal carers.

The service has a national coverage and is fully integrated into the national health system.

The initiative found broad dissemination and implementation and therefore represents a valued and fully operational national project. In addition, the high response rates in terms of kits distributed, workshop participants and number of phone calls, highlighted the high number of informal carers reached by the service. This might allow to address further informal carers who have not yet been reached and informed about the availability of this service.

References:

http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es/ambitos/uncuidador/uncuidador_es.html

Mrs María José Gil Muñoz, responsible of Social Affair at “La Caixa”, updating of the case-study in April 2014

La Caixa Foundation’s telephone: 0034 9902223040

E-mail: info@fundacionlacaixa.es

mjgil@fundaciolacaixa.es

Free Information telephone Service: 902 22 30 4

On the website of La Caixa there is contact form and a telephone number but it is not specific for the initiative “Un Cuidador Dos Vidas”.