Next
Week
March
6 , 2001
Homecare
Crisis
It's
more compassionate, not to mention cheaper, to let people die,
recuperate or spend their last years living in their own home.
At least, that's the conventional wisdom.
Did
anyone anticipate that the shift toward homecare would involve
such a reliance on family members? Have our attempts to
provide more care in the home for the sick and the frail, created
a new group of burnt-out, financially-strapped caregivers?
Three
million Canadians toil daily behind closed doors, caring for loved
ones in their home. But the homecare system is a patchwork
of programs that vary from province to province in quality, access
and care.
Over
the past six years, Rose Giglio has gradually given up her career,
her personal life and her freedom to care for her frail and aged
parents.
Gender
Bias in Drug Testing
Women
aren't men with menstrual cycles. They don't experience
every disease the same way men do, so it's important that drugs
and therapies be tested on both sexes in clinical trials, and
that the results be screened for gender differences.
But
that's not happening, according to Dr. Donna Stewart, Chair of
Women's Health at the University Health Network in Toronto and
Paula Rochon, a scientist with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative
Sciences.
