Male carers looking after fathers need greater help in Hong Kong: study

Male carers looking after their fathers need greater help in Hong Kong, a study of a large-scale project has revealed, with researchers calling for efforts to bridge the gender gap in offering support.

The University of Hong Kong researchers on Tuesday shared the results of an analysis covering 6,777 carers receiving services under the Jockey Club Carer Space Project.

Their findings showed that 8.2 per cent of adults taking care of their parents were classified as high-need carers – those in need of referral and follow-up as well as respite services.

This rate was higher than the 5.9 per cent of those looking after spouses classified as high-need cases.

Researchers also identified 12.7 per cent of sons caring for their fathers covered in the study as high-need cases.

Overall, more than half of the carers were classified as in moderate to high need.