Ana Canga PHOTO: Manuel Castells

Ana Canga, professor at School of Nursing at the University of Navarra and specialist in the care of dependent elderly people, has carried out a study with families in Navarra which confirms that 81% of dependent people are cared for by their families and that 84% of the care is provided by women.

This work, with a grant from the high school de Salud Carlos III, has focused on the study of the family as a caregiving nucleus and the main difficulties it must face when it has a dependent person at position . In this sense, it has enabled the researcher to develop new theories, such as the "sustainable family caregiver": "This novel concept argues that families with dependent persons at position must be able to prolong this status without the life of its members suffering, or it will not be sustainable".

The proposal derives from one of the conclusions of the research: the existence of families with a "dependency on the dependent". According to Ana Canga, "in these families, the dependent person and the status that he/she generates become the center and axis of the whole life of its members, who in many cases are forced to give up their vital project , with the corresponding suffering".

In fact, the study collects direct testimonies from family members: "Many of them emphasize that the new status has radically changed their lives, that they have to depend on their children to move from home and that they are often alone. Likewise, the dependents themselves perceive this pain and feel guilty".

This status, according to the expert, highlights the helplessness of families within the Dependency Law itself. "The people who took part in the study asked for greater ease in the Administration's procedures. Some even declared themselves helpless in the face of paperwork that they did not understand, and frustrated with a rule that promises them a lot and does not support them in the basics."

2060: 30% of the population over 65
On the other hand, Ana Canga's work warns that the aging of the population will exacerbate the problem of care for dependent persons: "In 2060, 30% of the population will be over 65 years old. This, added to social changes such as the growing incorporation of women into the labor market, new family forms, etc., will generate the so-called geographical dependency".

"This issue," stresses the professor at the University of Navarra, "was partly cushioned in Spain by the role of the family as the nucleus of social cohesion. In fact, the families themselves say that they still want to take care of dependent people, but they need financial aid to do so in a sustainable way".

thesis For this reason, the expert advocates in her doctoral dissertation training the creation of professionals specialized in "family nursing", which already exist in the Nordic countries or in Canada, and who take care of the family as a complete unit.