New marketing campaign encourages people to talk to ageing parents about future care needs

A new multi-channel marketing campaign has been launched after data revealed that nearly two-thirds of people are unwilling to talk to their elderly parents about future care plans, saying the conversation makes them feel “uncomfortable”, “anxious”, or even “scared”.

The #HaveTheTalk campaign was launched by Taking Care Personal Alarms to raise awareness of the importance of discussing healthy ageing more openly and exploring the available care options.

This campaign comes after data from Taking Care revealed more than half of families are “too anxious or uncomfortable” to open up to their ageing parents about their future care needs, despite rising care costs and an increasingly ageing population, with one in ten “afraid” to talk to their parents about getting older.

Speaking about the campaign, Steve Gates, Managing Director at Taking Care, said: “The findings of this survey are exactly why we launched our Have the Talk campaign – we want to get Britain talking more openly about the future – however uncomfortable that might be.

“The fear of talking about elderly care is an issue impacting thousands of households across the country, with a huge number of people admitting that the prospect of talking to ageing parents about their future care needs isn’t appealing, but it’s so important for families to tackle this issue head on.  Preventative measures that are put into place before an accident happens are so much more effective and can head off potential issues before they happen.”

Data also finds that one in three adults plan to give up work to care for their elderly parents when the time comes, with the main reason being “there is no one else who can help.” Often, these individuals fall into the ‘sandwich generation’, caring for both their own children alongside ageing parents or relatives.

The aim of the campaign is to get Britain talking about elderly care plans with their loved ones and stop hiding away from the topic because it is difficult to talk about. Survey data found that one in three respondents “don’t want to think about their parents getting older”.

Steve added: “It goes to show we have a lot of work to do to remove the stigma around planning and discussing elderly care. Our campaign is about removing the stigma from these conversations and encouraging families to be open and honest with each other when it comes to planning for the future – the sooner, the better.  By having a preventative approach and forward-planning view of elderly care options, families can limit the need to introduce reactive solutions, which can often be stressful, emotionally draining and expensive for both the elderly individual and their families.

“Elderly care simply shouldn’t be a taboo topic in UK households. It’s no different to funeral planning, Wills and inheritance discussions or end-of-life wishes and with an increasingly ageing population, eldercare is a topic we simply cannot hide from.”

A global campaign was recently launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, calling for urgent action to improve access to assistive technology for millions of people around the world.