Why is care home capacity in Çorum so tight? We look at the ageing population, waiting lists and the psychological weight of care decisions on families.
There is a question that gets asked quietly at many family gatherings: "Who is going to look after Mum?" In Çorum, that question comes up earlier and more often than in most of Turkey, because Çorum has one of the oldest populations in the country. According to an elderly-care feasibility report published in 2021 by the Central Black Sea Development Agency (OKA), the province's public care homes had 132 beds in total, with an occupancy rate of 98.5 per cent. In other words, care homes in Çorum were almost completely full, and around 50 people were on the waiting list. In this article we look at what these figures tell us, why this picture has emerged and, most importantly, what kind of psychological mark the decision about care leaves on older people and their families.
Care Homes in Çorum: What Do the Numbers Say?
Let us start with the basic picture. According to the Ministry of Health's Health Statistics Yearbook 2023, 16.6 per cent of Çorum's population is aged 65 or over. Across Turkey the figure is 10.2 per cent. The same source gives Çorum an old-age dependency ratio, that is, the number of older people for every 100 people of working age, of 25.2, compared with 15.0 for Turkey. Put simply, in Çorum there is one older person for every four working-age adults. These ratios help explain why demand for residential care is felt more sharply than the national average, and why the debate about care homes in Çorum directly concerns so many families.
OKA's 2021 report, drawing on data from TÜİK (the Turkish Statistical Institute), offers some even more striking indicators:
- Older people make up 53.4 per cent of single-person households. On this measure Çorum ranks first in Turkey. One in every two people living alone is elderly.
- Public care home capacity is 132 beds (two care homes with 66 places each), with an occupancy rate of 98.5 per cent.
- Around 50 older people are waiting for residential care, with roughly 70 new applications every year. The same report puts the number waiting across Turkey at around 8,000.
- 94.4 per cent of older residents were born in the province they live in, the third highest rate in Turkey.
Most care, however, takes place at home. The Çorum Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Plan (İRAP, 2021) notes that of the 4,147 people with disabilities receiving the home-care allowance, 1,478 are over the age of 60. In September 2025 a new care home opened in Osmancık, which shows that capacity has begun to expand. However, the current total number of beds has not yet appeared in an official table.
The Limits of the Data
Two points are worth keeping in mind when reading these figures. First, the care home data date from 2020. New facilities have opened since then and the waiting list may have changed. Second, a waiting list only shows formal applications. Families who considered applying and changed their minds, or who never applied for fear of "what people will say", are not included. The real need therefore cannot be measured by a single number.
Why Is There So Much Need for Care? A Sociological Reading
The situation in Çorum cannot be put down to a single cause. It is reasonable, however, to think that several structural factors are working together.
Migration and a scattered family network. According to a 2025 compilation by the Ankara Chamber of Commerce based on TÜİK data, 442,275 people living in Ankara are officially registered as being from Çorum. That is close to Çorum's own population. While a large share of younger people live in other cities, their elderly parents stay in the province where they were born. The extended family model, which traditionally meant "care at home", is now geographically dispersed.
A rural structure. According to the Health Statistics Yearbook 2023, 39.2 per cent of Çorum's population is rural (11.2 per cent in Turkey). An older person living in a village finds it harder to reach health services, day care and social activities. This can bring the need for residential care forward.
Cultural expectations. As in many parts of Anatolia, caring for older relatives in Çorum is seen as a moral duty, a "debt of loyalty". For a long time a care home was therefore regarded as a last resort. The fact that capacity has remained narrow may partly reflect demand being voiced late and reluctantly.
These are possible factors rather than definitive causes. Yet they all point in the same direction: the need for care is growing while the number of family members who can provide it is shrinking.
The Psychology of the Care Home Decision: Guilt, Loyalty and Social Judgement
Deciding on a care home is not just a practical choice. For most families it is a deep test of identity, values and love.
Adult Children's Guilt
Imagine a daughter living in Ankara who hears from a neighbour that her mother in Çorum has had a fall. She sets off every weekend, but between work, her own children and the tiring journey she is gradually wearing herself out. When the idea of a care home crosses her mind, the first thing she feels is often not relief but guilt: "It feels as if I'm abandoning my mother." This feeling comes from believing that she is making a decision that clashes with her own values. Yet keeping her mother safe is also a form of love.
Tension Between Siblings
The burden of care is rarely shared equally between siblings. The one who lives nearby, usually a sister, carries most of the load. The sibling who lives far away either criticises the decision or stays silent. This imbalance can reopen old wounds and lead to long-lasting rifts within the family.
Social Judgement and Shame
In a small city, families know one another. A remark such as "she put her mother in a care home" can feel heavier than the decision itself. This worry sometimes leads families to postpone the support they genuinely need, and in that case both the older person and the family caregiver suffer.
Deciding who will care for a loved one, and where, may show not that love has faded but that love has changed its shape.
Through the Eyes of the Older Person: Home, Independence and Loss
Discussions often centre on the family. Yet the person at the heart of the decision is the older person. According to TÜİK data cited by OKA, 49.7 per cent of older people in Çorum describe themselves as "happy", the third lowest figure in Turkey. On its own this number does not establish cause and effect, but it reminds us that older people's emotional needs matter at least as much as their physical needs.
For an older person, home is not just four walls. It carries the meaning of the years spent with a spouse, the rooms where children were raised and the balcony where tea was shared with neighbours. Moving into a care home can therefore resemble a grieving process: the loss of the house, of routine, of the neighbourhood and, to some extent, of independence. During this process the following reactions may appear:
- Withdrawal, loss of appetite and disrupted sleep
- Anger or resentment towards their children
- Thoughts of worthlessness such as "I'm no use to anyone any more"
- Fear of not being able to adjust to the new environment
On the other hand, for some older people a care home can bring real relief. For someone who lives alone, lies awake at night afraid of falling and goes days without speaking to anyone, regular meals, health monitoring and conversation with peers can improve quality of life. What matters is that the decision is made with the older person's voice being heard.
Practical Suggestions for Families Considering Care Homes in Çorum
When a care decision is made hastily in the middle of a crisis, it is harder for both the older person and the family. The following steps can help you manage the process in a healthier way.
- Start the conversation early. While your mother or father is still in good health, ask: "If you ever need care, what would you want?" This conversation may be difficult, but having it before a crisis ensures the decision remains theirs.
- Review the options together. Talk openly within the family about home-care support, the services of social service centres, day care or a care home. Writing down the pros and cons of each option makes an emotional discussion more concrete.
- Share the load fairly. Siblings who live far away can also take responsibility: financial contributions, regular phone calls, handling paperwork, or stepping in on the caregiving sibling's days off.
- Recognise the caregiver's limits. It is not sustainable for one person to provide care alone for years. Caregiver burnout progresses quietly and, by the time it is noticed, has often reached an advanced stage.
- Ease the transition. If a move to a care home has been decided, let the older person take favourite belongings, photographs and habits with them. Visit more often in the first weeks and listen with curiosity to their experience of the new setting.
- Make room for your own feelings. Guilt, relief, sadness and anger can all be felt at the same time. All of these feelings are natural and they do not cancel each other out.
- Protect the older person's social ties. Whether or not residential care is chosen, keeping up the older person's bonds with former neighbours, relatives and holiday visits is very valuable for their mental health. Phone calls, short visits home and chances to be with the family on special days reduce the feeling of "I've been forgotten".
Being on a waiting list is a source of stress in itself. Families who have applied for care homes in Çorum and are waiting their turn have to cope both with uncertainty and with care continuing at home in the meantime. It helps to think of this period not as a "temporary crisis" but as an interim phase that needs planning. Deciding in advance who will take on care on which day, who will be called in an emergency and when the caregiver will rest can ease the weight of the wait to some extent.
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
Caring for an older person is demanding for everyone, but some situations may call for a professional assessment:
- If the caregiver has not slept properly for weeks and feels constantly exhausted and irritable
- If guilt is completely blocking a decision, or has not eased months after the decision was made
- If conflict between siblings has brought communication to breaking point
- If the older person shows marked withdrawal, loss of appetite, hopelessness or a reduced will to live
- If your older relative or you yourself are thinking about self-harm
The last point is especially important. In later life, loneliness and feeling lonely can become intertwined with depression. If there are thoughts of self-harm or any immediate risk, call 112 (emergency services) without delay. Remember that these signs do not in themselves amount to a diagnosis, but they should be taken seriously.
How Are Care Decisions and Caregiver Strain Addressed in Therapy?
Therapy does not make the decision for you. It can, however, help you untangle the emotional knots around it. In individual therapy, work usually focuses on the following areas:
Examining guilt-laden thoughts. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on noticing rigid beliefs such as "a good child never leaves their mother" and weighing them against more balanced thoughts. The aim is not to suppress the feeling but to place it in a realistic frame.
Understanding early schemas. Some adults have been used to carrying everyone's burdens in the family since childhood. From a schema therapy perspective, the link between patterns such as "self-sacrifice" and today's caregiving load can be explored.
Boundary and communication skills. Talking to siblings, asking for help and being able to say "no" are skills that can be learned. In therapy these conversations can be rehearsed in advance.
Working with grief. Watching a mother or father grow old can feel like losing them, to some extent, while they are still alive. Simply naming this "anticipatory grief" is often a relief.
In Çorum, alongside face-to-face sessions, online sessions can also be an option for family members who find it hard to leave home because of caring duties or who live in another city. For a broader perspective on the subject, you may also want to read our article on caregiving families in Çorum.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does moving into a care home cause depression in older people?
Every older person's situation is different. Sadness and difficulty adjusting are common during the transition. However, for some older people who live alone and need social contact, regular care and relationships with peers can have a positive effect on mood. It is important that the decision is made with the older person's involvement and that close support is provided in the first weeks.
I feel like a bad son or daughter for considering a care home for my mother. Is that normal?
Yes, this is a very common feeling. Guilt is often a reflection of love and a sense of responsibility. What matters is that the feeling does not stop you from making a decision altogether and does not turn into an inner voice that constantly punishes you.
My siblings don't contribute to the care. How can I raise this?
Starting with concrete needs rather than blaming language tends to work: for example, "I need you to come two weekends a month." Drawing up a task list and sharing responsibilities in writing reduces uncertainty. If conversations keep ending in arguments, it may be worth considering professional support for a family meeting.
My elderly relative doesn't want to move into a care home. What should I do?
First, listen with curiosity to the reasons behind their reluctance: it may be fear of losing their home, anxiety about being abandoned or worry about living with strangers. If possible, visit the facility together and discuss interim solutions such as trial stays. If there is no safety risk, respecting their autonomy protects the relationship in the long run.
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Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
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