Our director Claudia Miranda is co-author of the chapter entitled “Burden and gender inequalities in long-term informal care: an invisible phenomenon”, together with Milda Galkutė.

This publication is part of the book “The task of Public Health. Divergences and inequities in health” published by FLACSO.

Specifically, the authors reflect on theoretical perspectives on the stress of caregivers, as well as the dual provider/female caregiver model, with a focus on informal care in the Latin American context.

The chapter also addresses the implications of these gender inequalities in care for public policies in Chile, stating that it is urgent to invest in the growth of formal care services in the country. This includes the creation of more services that alleviate the burden of informal caregivers (day care centers, or formal help at home), together with the creation of accessible institutions and residences that provide long-term care to dependent older people.

Finally, the authors conclude that there is an opportunity for future research in the field of informal care: it is important to evaluate, with a gender approach, the effects of stress on the health of informal caregivers; as well as to investigate what type of social support best affects the well-being of informal caregivers.