보건복지부 영문홈페이지

Young Carers Spend 21.6 Hours per Week on Family Care

- MOHW conducted the first-ever survey on the current state, quality of life, and welfare needs of Young Carers to design evidence-based basic policies. Support programs will be announced in 1st half

- Their average care period is 46.1 months. Young Carers care for their family members with critical illness, physical disabilities, and dementia

- Young Carers are twice as dissatisfied with their lives and 7 times more depressed than other young adults

<Summary>

Young Carers spend an average of 21.6 hours per week for care and their average period of care is 46.1 months. As a result, they are less satisfied with their lives and have difficulty planning out their future compared to other young adults.

On April 26, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (Minister Cho, KyoHoong) released the “2022 Survey on Young Carers”. Last year, MOHW launched its first government-level survey on the current state, quality of life, and welfare needs of Young Carers to create a systematic support system for them.

The survey found that Young Carers spend an average of 21.6 hours per week for care, 7.3 hours longer than their desired hours of care which is 14.3 hours, and their average length of total care time is 46.1 months. Also, they are at least twice as dissatisfied with their lives and 7 times more depressed than other young adults.

Welfare services needed for them were ▲ livelihood, ▲ medical services, ▲ a break from care duty, and ▲ cultural and leisure activities. Primary carers* with greater care responsibilities said they need psychological support more than cultural and leisure activities, indicating they have complex welfare needs.

* Primary carers are family members who provide the majority of care to the recipient family member and are responsible for overall care

The Ministry of Health and Welfare aims to alleviate the care burden and support the return to daily life of Young Carers by actively identifying Young Carers, providing counseling and guidance, and offering customized social services, based on the survey findings.

Choi Jong-gyun, Deputy Minister for Population Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare said, “The survey results will be used to create more systematic and effective support policies for Young Carers to prevent them from giving up on their own future due to family care responsibilities.” ///