When women need care : are men their caregivers?The cases of Finland, Austria and Spain

Abstract

Traditionally women are the primary caregivers in their families when a relative, child, parent or partner is in long-term care situation. Most previous research has focused on the role of women as main caregivers in households, but this study approaches the subject of informal caregiving from a different perspective: what happens when women are the ones in need of care? Studying how men get involved in caregiving or how they avoid it, to describe the experiences of these women and men. The study is conducted in three different countries, Finland, Austria and Spain, interviewing couples in the regions of Lapland, Vorarlberg and Alicante, respectively. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the experiences of these men and women by examining the main difficulties they face when their husbands become their caregivers, or the difficulties they find when their husbands do not provide the care they need. The results have been analyzed from a gender perspective and under the umbrella of critical studies on men¿s practices, taking into account the influence of contextual factors in each case. The relevance comes from the better understanding of these women's and men's experiences to achieve equality in relation to caregiving, and for that it is needed to start a debate about men¿s practices.