Male dementia carers less likely to ask for help than female carers

A new report by Alzheimer’s Australia has found male carers for people with dementia are less likely to seek support or advice

Becoming a carer for someone with dementia can be a daunting prospect, but one that can be helped immensely by drawing on the help, support and expertise of others – both professionals and other carers.

However, a report by Alzheimer’s Australia has discovered that only one in five callers to the organisation’s national helpline were men, and that three times as many female partners contacted the service as male partners.

And chances are, this pattern is likely to be repeated worldwide, for male carers in the UK and US, too.

The report noted that 78% of callers seeking support were female, and that there were almost four times as many daughters ringing the helplines as there were sons.

‘I think that men feel it’s their role to care for their person no matter what, and so are reluctant to seek help,’ said Debbie Slater, CEO of Alzheimer’s Australia Tasmania. ‘They feel like they may have failed if they did accept services and especially the age group, the older age group, they tend to be very independent and don’t really feel like they need extra support.’

Slater noted that accessing support through helplines was key to helping to make people’s lives as comfortable as possible.

‘It’s about keeping people at home for the longest length of time and when people do access services they are able to stay in their own homes for a much longer time than otherwise.’

If you have concerns about Alzheimer’s disease or about any other form of dementia, call the Alzheimer’s Society National Dementia Helpline on 0300 222 1122.

If you would like to a Dementia UK Admiral Nurse for advice, call their dementia helpline on 0800 888 6678.