German pharma company Merck is teaming up with the United Nations’ Global Initiative on Ageing (GIA) to launch a new series of training courses aimed at family carers.
The five courses are set up to help carers carry out essential help at home including using medical equipment, creating safe environments and overcoming communication barriers.
The course, which is on Merck Serono's Embracing Carers website and is now available in Spanish and English, is for a broad range of conditions and includes care for “patients impacted by cancer, multiple sclerosis (MS) or other diseases and chronic conditions,” Merck said in a release.
The pharma company currently markets colorectal and head and neck cancer treatment Erbitux as well as MS therapy Rebif.
Merck reports that approximately 17% of Americans and Europeans work as unpaid family caregivers. A recent survey conducted by Embracing Carers, a program launched by the company in 2017, found that family caregivers in the U.S. spend an average of 28 hours per week on caregiving duties, while in Europe, the average is 26.8 hours.
“The physical, mental, emotional, and financial stress of caregiving frequently leads to health problems for carers, with 75% of survey respondents saying they feel burned out by their caregiving responsibilities,” Merck said in a statement.
“As the world’s population of ageing adults continues to significantly increase, the importance of carers has become even more critical to address their health needs,” said Ambassador Luis Gallegos, chairman of GIA.
“By bringing together the trusted experience of the GIA and Merck’s industry-leading carer initiative, Embracing Carers, we can better support carers around the world with these newly launched, vital courses.”