Testing a Respite Training Programme for Carers

Published on: 19/06/2017Updated on: 19/06/2017

On 2 May, IPERIA l'Institut launched the "Carers' Relay” (“Relais des Aidants”) in the Doubs department, a programme of themed discussion sessions for carers and recreational workshops for those they care for. This programme is innovative because it serves a dual purpose: offering carers respite time while enabling them to train and develop their skills.

An invisible population, and yet...

Carers are people who (most often voluntarily) support a family member suffering from a chronic illness, disability, or any other long-term condition requiring care, outside any formal or professional framework. These primary home carers- spouses, parents, or children- represent 8.3 million people in France. Today, approximately 1 in 6 people cares for an ill relative, dedicating an average of 6 hours daily. In our ageing societies, more and more people will take on the role of caregiver.

IPERIA l'Institut puts its expertise at the service of carers.

Feelings of guilt, isolation, denial of need, a dependent elderly person's refusal to accept professional help... Many carers and family carers keep pushing the limits of their strength. Training opportunities, mainly when part of a comprehensive support service package, are highly valued by carers and recommended by healthcare and vocational training professionals. However, carers face multiple obstacles in accessing training, including lack of information, difficulty in recognizing their role as carers, limited local training opportunities, and time constraints.

Based on these observations, supported by a study and discussions with carers, professional carers, and healthcare professionals conducted in 2016, IPERIA l'Institut, an expert in helping skills and practices in the home, has taken up this societal issue. The institute decided to put its expertise in professionalization to help carers. This led to development of an experimental respite-training programme dedicated to carers, the "Carers’ Relay".

This innovative project echoes the Carers' Centers (RAVie), a successful initiative launched 10 years ago by IPERIA l'Institut. These are discussion forums created to address the professional isolation of personal carers and enable them to develop their skills through peer exchange and expert input. This programme currently covers about thirty departments. However, the caregiver's situation presents a critical specificity compared to domestic workers: with their relatives. It is thus difficult for carers to distance themselves from this role. The caring responsibilities often lead them to extreme vulnerability, which is detrimental to their own health.

Launch of an experimental "Carers’ Relay" in the Doubs department

The Institute recruited participants, mobilized partners and funders -- the Conseil Départemental du Doubs (the Doubs Department Council), the Caisse Nationale de Solidarité pour l'Autonomie (National Solidarity Fund for Autonomy in France, CNSA), FEPEM, MFR de Morre -- to develop a trial of the "Carers’ Relay". It began on 2 May 2017, as explained by Sandrine Leroyer, Social Innovation Project Manager at IPERIA l'Institut: "We are currently testing the programme in the Doubs department, until 5 December 2017, through 'carers' Tuesdays'. These are themed sessions, led by experts (doctors, psychologists, physiotherapists, etc.), and recreational workshops (sensory, creative, sporting...) that occur every first Tuesday of the month. Benefits for carers:

Better manage the impact that caring for a relative can have on their health and social life.
Have access to a place for respite, information, and advice to continue caring without burning out
Share their experiences and develop their practice and approach through learning best practices."

A sharing conference "Being a Carer: Implications and Solutions"

On 23 May, a collaborative conference was held in Besançon on the theme "Being a Carer: Implications and Solutions." The conference, attended by project partners and about thirty participants, was very rich in discussions and highlighted the need for support for this still too-often isolated population.

The aim was to raise awareness and provide information to carers and those they care for about preventing risks associated with the caring relationship and to offer advice on implementing effective and sustainable solutions.

Clémence Quibel, Project Manager at the Burgundy-Franche-Comté Gerontology and Innovation Centre, discussed the "vicious circle of exhaustion and the close link between the quality of life of the carer and the relative they care for". Monique Magnin, retired healthcare manager, emphasized the need to "take care of yourself to take care of others, to stay informed, not to remain isolated". Jeannine Millet, a caregiver, illustrated these points with her testimony: "Mental exhaustion is a severe risk that you must protect yourself against". Thierry Chauville, Director of Autonomy at the Conseil Départemental du Doubs, reminded that "society's view of the caregiver's role is changing, particularly thanks to the law on adapting society to an ageing population".

Sandrine Leroyer concluded this afternoon of discussions with a presentation of the "Carers’ Relay" and other tools designed by IPERIA l'Institut to support this audience, as well as individual employers, in developing their skills:

www.employeradomicile.fr, a portal dedicated to best practices in domestic work for individual employers facing loss of autonomy or disability.
A practical guide, "Home Employment”, is an abridged portal version that is as complete as possible.

The following collaborative conference will occur in October on "CESU and financial support".

To learn more

As the caregiving issue extends beyond France, IPERIA l'Institut has also engaged in the TRACK project, a European project promoting the training and recognition of carers' skills, which it has been coordinating since 2015 and whose final conference will take place on 21 June in Brussels.