CURRENT STATISTICS
50%
The labor force participation rate of people providing care for disabled family members is approximately 50% lower than that of people without caregiving responsibilities. Limited access to support services and community-based care often pushes both caregivers and disabled people to the margins of economic life.
70%
Due to the lack of adequate public services and community support networks, nearly 70% of family caregivers of disabled people report chronic stress, emotional exhaustion, or burnout. When care remains an individual responsibility rather than a shared social commitment, it can become a significant mental health challenge.
5 K
In Türkiye, individuals assessed with a 40% disability rating receive a disability allowance of ₺5,103.33. This highlights the gap between the financial realities of disability-related expenses and the level of available income support.
CURRENT CARE POLICIES
Care Policy Recommendations Tool
At İhtimam, we curate emerging care policy recommendations and translate them into practical guidance for different stakeholders. Select a stakeholder group and thematic area to explore relevant policy recommendations, strategies, and actions from Türkiye and around the world.
THE FUTURE OF CARE
Care Radar
The Care Radar tracks emerging developments, weak signals, and evolving conversations across the care landscape. It is designed to help us understand how care is changing and to explore these shifts through an ethical and systems-oriented lens.
The Transfer of Care Responsibilities to Families
Limited access to public and community-based support services means that disability-related care often remains concentrated within households. The assumption that family members will provide care continues to shape policy design, transferring what is often a lifelong responsibility onto families.
From Institutional Services to Home-Based Coordination
As institutional care models decline, support services are increasingly delivered through fragmented systems within the home. Healthcare, education, rehabilitation, and social support frequently operate through separate channels, leaving families responsible for coordinating complex care arrangements.
The Expansion of Personal Assistance Models
Personal assistance programs, which enable disabled people to organize and direct their own support, are gaining attention in many countries. These models have the potential to strengthen autonomy and independent living, though questions of funding, workforce stability, and long-term sustainability remain.
Digital Accessibility and Remote Support
Remote education, tele-support services, and digital rehabilitation tools are expanding access to support and participation. At the same time, managing applications, devices, technical troubleshooting, and administrative requirements often creates additional work for caregivers and families.
Caregiver Wellbeing as a Public Health Issue
Research increasingly highlights elevated risks of depression, burnout, and chronic illness among long-term caregivers of disabled people. Caregiver wellbeing is gradually being recognized as a public health concern rather than a matter of individual resilience, though support systems remain limited.
Community-Based Support Pilots
Local governments and civil society organizations are experimenting with neighborhood-based support networks, community hubs, and day centers that seek to share care responsibilities more broadly. While promising, many of these initiatives remain small-scale and vulnerable to funding constraints.
Sensory Monitoring and Home-Based Technologies
New monitoring systems that rely on movement, light, environmental data, or Wi-Fi signals rather than cameras are being developed to improve safety while protecting privacy. These technologies offer new possibilities but also raise important questions around ethics, consent, and data governance.
The Visibility of Care Coordination Work
Disability-related care often involves extensive coordination, including medical appointments, benefit applications, education plans, support services, and institutional communication. This organizational and administrative labor is becoming more visible, though it remains largely absent from formal measurements of care work.
Disability Care During Crises
Natural disasters, emergencies, and social crises expose the fragility of disability care systems. Accessible evacuation, continuity of medication, assistive technologies, and support services often become major challenges. These situations highlight the need for more resilient and inclusive care infrastructures.
