A quarter of municipalities with support for caregivers

Only a quarter of the 308 Portuguese municipalities develop initiatives to support informal caregivers, reveals a study by health institutions, which points to “ worrying data ” about the responses of local authorities in this area, it was announced this Monday.

“Among the 78 municipalities with identified initiatives, the majority of actions are characterized by being punctual , small-scale and focused mainly on the dissemination of information or training actions”, states a note from the Escola Superior de Santa Maria – Santa Maria Health School, in Porto.

The results are included in the study “Caregivers and local authorities – Current situation” conducted by researchers from Santa Maria Health School and Rise Health, a research unit based at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, coordinated by José Manuel Silva, and whose full results will be released soon “at a scientific event” .

“Only 25.3% of municipalities report developing initiatives, programs or projects specifically aimed at this population, which plays a central role in long-term care, but remains largely invisible in public policies”, consider the promoters of the survey.

The study, as explained in the note, aimed to map and analyze, in a systematic way, the responses of the 308 Portuguese municipalities in supporting informal caregivers, using “document analysis, direct contact with local authorities and validation procedures, ensuring comprehensive national coverage”.

On the other hand, only 5.2% develop “structured and ongoing programs , such as replacement or respite services for informal caregivers and psychosocial support”.

Furthermore, there were “marked regional asymmetries and weak coordination with national programs and civil society organizations, which raises concerns in terms of territorial equity, continuity of care and strategic alignment with public health and social action policies”.

The results of the study highlight “the need for a more coordinated, intersectoral and multi-level public response , which reinforces the role of local authorities as strategic agents” in the adoption of “sustainable, integrated community responses focused on the well-being of those who care and those who are cared for”, it is argued.

Although in January 2025, 16,386 informal caregiver statuses were assigned in Portugal, only 6,004 (36.6%) benefited from the respective economic support, according to data from Social Security (2025).

“These numbers contrast with the estimates of the National Association of Informal Caregivers, which indicates the existence of around 827 thousand informal caregivers in the country (Activity Report, 2021), evidencing a clear underrepresentation in official statistics”, pointed out the promoters of the study.