Research carried out by the university’s Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies highlights the plight of what it terms “compound caregivers” – individuals providing daily care for two or more family members, for example those who are caring for ageing parents and young children.
Based on 45 in-depth interviews conducted between April 2025 and this January, the study found some respondents describing themselves as being trapped in a “state of being spread too thin”.
Many of them said they were “busy from morning to night” and had no time for themselves as they juggled medical appointments and household duties across multiple generations with work commitments, the institute’s director Dickson Chan said.
The study also cited issues such as insufficient workplace flexibility and mounting financial pressures.
Chan said policy support and society’s focus are on “single caregivers” – those looking after just one person.
The institute is calling for a series of systemic reforms, which includes the introduction of a “care manager” system under which dedicated personnel would act as a single point of contact between caregivers and various government departments over healthcare, rehabilitation and social welfare.
“A lot of respondents said they did not know about available services and found it very difficult to go through the application procedures,” Chan said.
“If there is a care manager who can offer advice and help them find resources, it could quickly help them cope with their caregiving needs.”
Additional recommendations include establishing regular feedback mechanisms for caregivers, such as standardised annual surveys and consultation platforms, as well as amending labour policies to introduce seven days of leave per year for unpaid caregivers from their jobs.
Edited by Edmond Fong
