Caring for a distant parent
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In 2007, 1.65 million Canadians aged 45 and older provided assistance or care to a parent or to a mother- or father-in-law suffering from a long-term health problem or physical limitation. One in five of them lived more than an hour by car from the individual receiving the care.
Caregivers who lived farther from the assisted parent were more likely to incur extra expenses and to miss work than those who lived in the same neighbourhood.
About 40% of caregivers who lived more than half a day away reported missing full days of work, compared with 28% of caregivers living in the same neighbourhood as the parent. As well, 62% of caregivers said they had extra expenses, compared with 30% of those living nearby. Women were more likely than men to face these consequences.
On average, caregivers who lived farther away from their parents had fewer siblings. They were also more likely than those living near their parent to live in one of Canada's largest metropolitan areas and to have a higher income.
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