Do you care for a loved one who has a long-term illness, a disability or is in need of help? Then you are an informal caregiver. Even if the care feels natural. Like caring for your child or ill parent. Informal care is all the help given to someone in need by someone in their immediate social environment. It also includes less intensive help, help to roommates and help to institutionalized residents. Informal care is help that goes beyond the so-called ‘usual help.
Informal care is unpaid
Informal care is unpaid help and can never be imposed as an obligation. Help to people without health limitations, such as babysitting healthy grandchildren, falls outside the definition.
Informal care is voluntary, but not volunteer care
Informal care and volunteer care are sometimes confused. Yet they are different things:
Informal care comes your way
Everyone has to deal with informal care sooner or later: you are an informal caregiver, you become an informal caregiver or you (will) need help from an informal caregiver in the future. Informal caregivers sometimes care 24 hours a day, they cannot just stop doing this and they sometimes perform nursing actions.
Informal care test
The Mantelzorgtest provides insight into how much time and energy informal care takes and whether there is enough time left for relaxation, work and other obligations. The Mantelzorgtest also helps with a personalized help offer: from practical tips to possibilities to enlist help.
In cooperation with the Moerdijk municipality, the Mantelzorgtest foundation created a Mantelzorgtest for informal caregivers in the Moerdijk municipality. Click here for the test and get insight, practical tips and help caring for your loved one.
