Care partners, including family members, friends, or professionals, offer support and assistance tailored to your preferences and requirements to help you maintain your health and lifestyle.
Tips & Links
Care partners can be informal caregivers (family, friends, neighbours) or hired professionals (health workers, bookkeepers, cleaners). The goal is to ensure you receive the support you need for your health and lifestyle. Choose people who offer emotional support, validate your feelings, and show respect and understanding.
Learn About
- Identify your care partners – people you choose, trust, and are comfortable with – who may help you with personal care and help with your daily activities, emotional support, and managing your health care needs.
- Express your need for independence and choose people who bring skills you are currently unable to provide.
- Understand the difference that caregivers are often hired and paid through agencies, while care partners are people you choose and may provide assistance and care without pay. In most cases, you do not have a choice in the caregiver sent to you by an agency or publicly-funded services.
- Be aware that family care partners and caregiving can be very stressful. Know that there is a CaregiverBC Support Line toll-free at 1-877-520-3267.
- Learn about the role of caregiver support groups, in-person and virtually, from the CaregiversBC.
- Visit the learning centre for resources, videos and course from the CaregiversBC.
Things You Can Do
- Think about different ways your care partners can assist you such as driving to appointments, offering social activities, visiting you at home, companionship for physical activities, picking up medications, house hygiene, meal support, outside chores and more.
- Consider neighbours who you can call on for support or assistance.
- Explore ideas, strategies and tips for caregivers from Healthlink BC.
- Learn about creating a planning circle of care partners using the Nidus Personal Support Person’s planning tool.
- Know about your patient rights including informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, and the right to refuse or accept care.
- Develop your self-advocacy skills to ensure your questions are answered and your needs and decisions are heard.
- Ask questions of all your care partners and caregivers and seek clarification on anything you do not understand.
- Choose a health advocate to assist you when you are not feeling well or strong enough to complete these tasks on your own.
Complete your Care Partners PDF found in My People. Include all care partners contact information, tasks, and decision-support roles. Explore the activity My Daily Activities and Personal Needs in My Day to Day to determine how care partners may assist you.