Transitions in Labour Force Participation over the Palliative Care Trajectory

Abstract

Background: Home-based palliative programs rely on family caregivers, who often miss time from employment. This article identified changes in caregivers' labour force participation over the palliative trajectory. Methods: Family caregivers (n = 262) were interviewed biweekly to measure transitions across four employment categories. Results: More than half of the caregivers had one employment transition and 29% had three or more. The highest proportion of transitions occurred for caregivers who were employed part-time. Interpretation: Understanding these transitions is critical to the development of strategies tailored to caregivers to contain labour force losses and to support caregivers during a time of high caregiving demands.