Health reform is happening across the country and is leaving us with a very different kind of health care system from what we have been used to.
In many ways, it is back to the future with more emphasis on home care and on the old and infirm being cared for by family members.
The changes in the health care system were acknowledged in the recent federal budget with the announcement that, henceforth, people who care for an elderly relative in their home will be allowed a tax deduction.
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Women are our traditional caregivers, and as the system evolves, with more emphasis on home care and on people caring for one another outside an institutional setting, more and more women are finding themselves with added responsibilities.
In the “old days” it was the norm to care for the elderly and sick at home. As the health care system evolved, it became the norm to depend on institutions. This happened at a time when there was a major shift of population away from the farm and at a time when more and more women were entering the workforce.
We are going back to the future in a very different society which places unique stresses on women and particularly on rural women who may not have access to all of the services available in an urban setting.
This situation has led the Centre for Agricultural Medicine and the Saskatchewan Women’s Agricultural Network to jointly sponsor a conference on rural women’s health to be held in Davidson, Sask., on March 26. It will focus on issues of particular concern to women: home care and care giver stress; access to mental health services; violence against women and children; and rural child care.
The day will end with rural women having the last word.
Every woman present will have the opportunity to complete the thought: “I’ll feel secure living in rural Saskatchewan when the health care system – .”
The conference organizers plan to develop an action plan in conjunction with those attending the conference. The action plan will be for the short, medium and long term and will be sent to those who can make things happen.
The provincial health department, which has provided some conference seed money, sees the get-together as extremely important and has asked for a proposal for getting the conference report into every farm home in the province.
