Canadian Boomers and Their Aging Parents

Vancouver, BC - An Ipsos Reid telephone poll commissioned by the BC Institute of Technology's Living Laboratory reveals Canadian Boomers aged 45-60 are dealing with a number of important issues when it comes to their aging parents.

Canadian Boomers' Knowledge of and Preparedness for How to Deal with Their Parent's Mobility Difficulties

• Overall, 85% of Canadian Boomers say they feel knowledgeable about how to go about assisting their parent to deal with the mobility issues they're facing. This includes 12% who feel they're "very knowledgeable", 31% who are "knowledgeable", and 42% who say they're "somewhat knowledgeable". Far fewer admit to being not knowledgeable (16%)
• Among Boomers who are at least "somewhat knowledgeable", a majority (55%) say they feel prepared for being able to assist their parent in dealing with the mobility issues they're facing. By comparison, 39% feel they're "only somewhat prepared", and 7% don't feel prepared at all.

Importance Boomers Attribute to Issues Related to Parent's Mobility Difficulties

Canadian Boomers do express a high degree of concern about issues their parent's face related to mobility difficulties. A half (46%) to eight-in-ten (79%) say most of the difficulties they were asked about in the research are an "important" or "very important" concern for them at the present time. They do, however, have a hierarchy of concern about the various issues:

• Top Tier: At the top of the list is their parent's physical health - 79% feel this is an important concern for them, with 40% saying it's "very important".
• Second Tier:Six-in-ten Boomers are concerned to some degree about their parent's security or safety (61%), how they'll get around on their own (61%), or who will care for them (60%). Between a quarter and a third say these three issues are a "very important" concern of theirs.
• Third Tier:Approximately one-half of Boomers express some level of concern about their parent's ability to perform daily activities (53%) or self-care activities(48%), their mental health (51%), their housing arrangement (47%), or their lack of exercise (46%).
• Bottom Tier:Only about a third of Boomers are concerned about managing their parent's finances (37%) or whether or not their parent should drive (31%). Fully 55% are not concerned about this latter aspect of their parent's lives.

Frequency of Discussing Mobility Issues with Parents

For the most part, Boomers ARE having conversations with their aging parents about the various mobility issues they experience to try to provide advice or offer help to them. Between 46% and 85% of Boomers discuss their parent's various mobility difficulties with them at least "sometimes or on occasion"; the average across all mobility issues is 62%. There are, nonetheless, some standout issues that gain more (or less) attention:

• Parent's physical health - 85% (including 51% discuss "very often/often").
• Parent's ability to perform daily activities - 69% (29% "very often/often").
• Parent's security/safety - 68% (30% "very often/often").
• How your parent will get around on their own - 64% (26% "very often/often").
• Parent's housing arrangement - 62% (30% "very often/often").
• Parent's ability to perform self-care activities - 62% (24% "very often/often").
• Parent's mental health - 60% (27% "very often/often").
• Parent's lack of regular exercise - 60% (23% "very often/often").
• Managing your parent's finances - 58% (25% "very often/often").
• Who will care for your parent - 54% (23% "very often/often").
• If parent's should continue to drive - 46% (17% "very often/often").

However, further analysis of the findings reveals that fewer than half of Boomers are in discussion with their parents on a frequent basis (either very often or often) about most of the important difficulties (either very or somewhat important). Among those who say the various mobility issues are "very important or important" concerns, on average, just 36% talk with their parents "very often or often" about them. The following percentages represent the proportion of Boomers who rate each issue "very/somewhat" important and who discuss the issue with their parent "very often or often":

• Parent's physical health - 56%.
• Parent's housing arrangement - 41%.
• Parent's security/safety - 39%.
• Parent's ability to perform daily activities - 38%.
• Managing your parent's finances - 38%.
• Parent's mental health - 36%.
• Parent's lack of regular exercise - 35%.
• How your parent will get around on their own - 34%.
• Parent's ability to perform self-care activities - 33%.
• Who will care for your parent - 29%.
• If parent's should continue to drive - 24%.

These are a subset of the findings of a much larger Ipsos Reid study conducted online between July 17th and 20th, 2009 on behalf of the BC Institute of Technology's Living Laboratory. The survey was conducted among a sample of 1,150 adult Canadians 45-60 years of age living outside Quebec who had parents aged 70+ with a mobility difficulty. For this survey, a national sample of 1,150 adults outside Quebec aged 45-60 who have parents 70+ with a mobility difficulty was interviewed online from Ipsos' Canadian Online Panel. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. A survey with an un-weighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/- 2.9 percentage points 19 times out of 20 of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in this demographic in Canada been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Daniel Savas
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
(778) 373-5004
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid

Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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