Imagine taking care of your parents, taking care of your sons or daughters and keeping your job… Half of the caregivers in Spain (51.1%) belong to the so-called “sandwich generation”: that is, in addition to caring for an elderly parent, they take care of the children. … or dependent daughters. Likewise, three out of four (77.6%) say they combine this role with their professional activity. This is shown in Study I of the Cinfa Care Observatory “Radiography of family care in Spanish society”, prepared by Cinfa Laboratories with the approval of the Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology (SEGG).
Caring for a family member is an often invisible responsibility. This is why Cinfa, as part of its movement for care and its long history with patients and their families, has launched an initiative to recognize family care in Spain, in an increasingly aging society.
This is the first call for assistance for social entities in favor of caregivers, in which 40 non-profit social entities from all over Spain participated, and two were selected for the innovation, scope and impact of their initiatives. AFAGA Alzheimer and Fundación San Juan de Dios de Navarra, non-profit social entities located respectively in Galicia and Navarre, will each receive 60,000 euros, over a period of two years, to launch two assistance projects aimed at improving the quality of life of people who care for their loved ones.
Emotional support and accompaniment via a digital channel
“AFAGA Contigo 24/7” is the first project to benefit from help from Cinfa. “Our idea is to create a communication platform through a technology called TokApp that serves as a space where doubts are resolved and up-to-date information is provided about dementia and the care of people who suffer from it,” explains Juan Carlos Rodríguez, president of AFAGA Alzheimer, and adds: “A system that works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. “We will integrate artificial intelligence to provide an immediate response, but at the same time it will be referred to the appropriate professional to offer more information or establish a relationship with the caring family member.”
This initiative, promoted by AFAGA Alzheimer, will inform families in real time, generate more humanized communication spaces and guarantee that no caregiver feels alone or disoriented in the face of the evolution of the disease.
Through this channel, which will be operational 24 hours a day, around 2,000 caregivers will be insured in the Vigo health area, many of whom reside in widely dispersed rural areas, where local resources are scarce and where this type of initiative is particularly necessary.
“We want to alleviate the emotional overload that the caregiver feels, this feeling of loneliness and isolation from which they suffer,” recognizes the president of AFAGA Alzheimer, for whom this help has been a source of great happiness: “We are very proud that Cinfa has selected us and supports us in this objective of using digitalization as an instrument to be able to reach the place where a family member or a person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease is located,” he explains.
Complete support and family respite
The other social entity selected in the first edition of “Aid to social entities in support of caregivers” of Cinfa is the San Juan de Dios de Navarra Foundation for its “Family School 360” program. “Our project is a comprehensive support network for family or informal caregivers of patients with chronic pathologies admitted to the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Pamplona,” explains Susana Martínez Agorreta, head of the socio-health sector of the San Juan de Dios Foundation in Navarre, which leads the project. “This initiative was born because professionals, at the time of discharge from the hospital, perceive the worry and uncertainty that families feel when they have to return home. Here they are trained and we try to teach them how to take care of the patient at home,” he explains.
The structural needs of the home are also analyzed and advice is given on adaptations and technical aids that promote the functionality of the home environment. Once at home, an occupational therapist will make a visit to assess real needs, reinforce health education, resolve doubts and offer emotional support to the caregiver.
In addition, a virtual care community will be fostered, a support space that facilitates the exchange of experiences, access to content guided by professionals and connection between caregivers. Finally, the project also includes a respite service, thanks to the support of volunteers, which will allow caregivers to have time to “take care of themselves”.
“We received this help from Cinfa with great enthusiasm and gratitude. For us this is a big boost and we also share the same goal: to care for those who care,” says Susana.
For Cinfa, it is essential to realize that taking care of our elders is a reality, especially in the context of an increasingly aging population. “We are a caring society and thousands of people take on this role in the family environment. At Cinfa we want to recognize and make visible this work and, of course, support it in a real and tangible way”, says Enrique Ordières, president of Grupo Cinfa.
With this call for help to social entities, the company takes a new step in its commitment to caregivers, supporting projects that not only offer resources, but also support, guidance, listening and recognition. Initiatives such as those of AFAGA Alzheimer and the San Juan de Dios de Navarra Foundation demonstrate that caring for those who care for them is a shared responsibility and an essential social investment to build a more humane and more united society.
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