Elderly Care in Çorum: An Older Person in One in Three Homes and the Families Who Care

Elderly care in Çorum rests largely on families. Official data on the scale of the care load, the strain on family carers and ways to find support.

Checking the compartments of the pill box in the morning, calling from work at lunchtime to ask "have you eaten?", helping with a bath in the evening, waking at midnight to the sound of a cough... In many homes, caring for an older person looks exactly like this: quiet, constant and often resting on a single person's shoulders. According to the TR83 Regional Plan of the Central Black Sea Development Agency (OKA), which draws on TÜİK (Turkish Statistical Institute) data, at least one older person lives in 34.2 per cent of households in Çorum; in Turkey the figure is 24.1 per cent. In other words, there is an older person in roughly one in every three homes. Elderly care in Çorum is therefore not just a social services heading; it is the everyday reality of thousands of families. In this article I look at what the figures say about care, why care falls mainly on families, and what can be done to protect carers' mental health.

Elderly Care in Çorum: What Do the Figures Say?

Official data show that in Çorum the need for care is both widespread and largely met within the home.

Households with older members. According to the 2022 TÜİK data in OKA's Regional Plan, the share of households in Çorum with at least one older person is 34.2 per cent (Turkey: 24.1 per cent). By contrast, the share of households with at least one child is 35.3 per cent, compared with 44.3 per cent in Turkey. In other words, in Çorum the number of households with an older member has almost caught up with the number of households with children.

Older people living alone. According to the same source, 75.4 per cent of single-person older households are made up of a woman. OKA's 2021 preliminary feasibility report on elderly care states, based on TÜİK data, that the share of older people's households among single-person households is 53.4 per cent in Çorum, the highest value in Turkey.

Institutional care capacity. According to the same report, in 2020 the two public care homes in the province had a combined capacity of 132 beds and an occupancy rate of 98.5 per cent. Around 50 older people were waiting for a place in institutional care, and about 70 new applications were made each year. In September 2025 a new care home, elderly care and rehabilitation centre opened in Osmancık, which shows that capacity has increased. Even so, compared with the number of older people in the province, it is clear that the overwhelming majority of care takes place at home.

Care at home. According to data in the Çorum Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Plan (2021), 4,147 disabled people in the province receive the home care allowance; 1,478 of them are over 60. The number of disabled people cared for in private care centres is 265. This proportion confirms once again that care takes place mainly within the family.

Health workforce. According to a calculation based on the Ministry of Health's Health Statistics Yearbook 2023, there are around 77 specialist doctors per 100,000 people in Çorum, compared with around 119 in Turkey. Getting a specialist appointment may sometimes mean travelling to another province, which adds a new burden to the carer's schedule.

What should you keep in mind when reading these data?

• The share of households with an older person and the share of single-person older households come from different years and different publications. The figures show a direction but should not be added directly to one another.
• An older person living in a household does not mean that person needs care. Many older people both manage on their own and support their families.
• Home care allowance data relate to disabled people; they do not cover every older person who needs care. The true scale of elderly care is probably wider than these numbers.
• An up-to-date and complete provincial total for care home capacity could not be verified in a published source, so the 2020 value has been used as the basis.

Why Does Care Rest Mainly on the Family?

It would not be right to attribute care staying within the home to a single cause. Still, some structural factors can help explain the picture.

An ageing population. According to Ministry of Health data, in 2023 the share of people aged 65 and over in Çorum was 16.6 per cent (Turkey: 10.2 per cent). The old-age dependency ratio is also clearly above the Turkish level. As the number of older people grows, the need for care naturally grows too.

Cultural expectations. The idea that "children look after their parents" is a strong value in Anatolia. This value ensures that older people are surrounded by love; but it can also make turning to institutional support look "shameful" or like "abandonment". This perception makes it harder for carers to ask for help.

Rural life. About a quarter of Çorum's population lives in villages and small towns. In rural areas, access to institutional services and specialist doctors is more difficult; care inevitably falls to the family and neighbours.

Gender roles. Data from the Turkey Family Structure Survey show that most housework is done by women. The research literature also shows that care work is mostly taken on by wives, daughters and daughters-in-law. According to sources reporting TÜİK data, the labour force participation rate in Çorum was 48.1 per cent in 2023, below the Turkish average (53.3 per cent). The size of the population outside the labour force may make it easier for care to fall to the person who is "already at home".

Migration. Some young people moving out of the province can lead to the care load piling up on the sibling who stays. Even if siblings far away want to help, their involvement in day-to-day care remains limited.

The Psychological Load on Families Providing Elderly Care in Çorum

Caring is one of the most concrete expressions of love and loyalty. Many carers also experience positive things in this process, such as meaning, closeness and a sense of being valued. However, when care goes on for a long time and is not balanced by support, it can leave clear marks on mental health.

A state of alertness that never ends

One of the feelings carers often describe is a sense of "an alarm that never switches off". Expecting bad news every time the phone rings, waking frequently at night and having your mind stay at home whenever you leave the house can, over time, turn into chronic anxiety.

Invisible labour and a lack of recognition

Care is often seen as something that "has to be done anyway". When the carer's exhaustion is not noticed or is played down, the person feels invisible. This feeling can turn into anger and resentment, and then into guilt about that anger.

Giving up one's own life

Carers who leave their jobs, put their social relationships on hold and neglect their own health check-ups are far from rare. In the long run, these losses weaken a person's sense of identity: "Now I am only someone who looks after others."

Ambiguous grief

Particularly with progressive illnesses such as dementia, the carer experiences the pain of slowly losing a loved one before actually losing them. This "ambiguous loss" is often not recognised by society and leaves the person alone with it.

Tension between siblings

When care is not shared fairly, old grievances within the family can resurface. Sentences such as "it's always me" or "you give advice from a distance" can leave lasting wounds in sibling relationships.

The feelings of the older person receiving care

The care relationship has another side as well. According to TÜİK data cited in OKA's 2021 report, Çorum is the province with the third-lowest share of older people who say "I am happy" (49.7 per cent). This figure cannot be explained by care alone; many factors play a role, such as health, loneliness, income and losses. Still, needing care is in itself a difficult experience for an older person. Someone who has looked after others all their life now receiving help can stir up shame, worthlessness and the feeling of "I'm becoming a burden". These feelings sometimes show up as refusing help, being stubborn or sulking. When the carer can read these reactions not as a personal attack but as an effort to cope with loss, tension in the relationship eases.

When these signs intensify, caregiver burnout can develop. I discussed its signs and causes in detail in my article on caregiver burnout.

Practical Suggestions for Caring Families

Let's say a fifty-two-year-old woman living in Sungurlu has been caring for her father, who had a stroke, for two years. Her siblings live in other cities, and she has given up her part-time job. In a situation like this it is not possible to change everything at once; but small steps can noticeably lighten the load.

• Make care visible. For one week, write down the time you spend on care and the tasks you do. This list gives you concrete ground when discussing how to share tasks with your siblings or partner.
• Plan regular breaks. Set aside time that is yours alone, when you hand care over to someone else, even if only for a few hours a week. A break is not a luxury; it is a necessity if care is to be sustainable.
• Look into official support. Getting information from the Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services, social service centres and the home care services of municipalities widens your options.
• Give siblings who live far away concrete tasks. Clear tasks such as booking hospital appointments online, keeping track of medication, contributing financially or coming on particular weekends remove the uncertainty of "I want to help but I don't know what to do".
• Do not neglect your own health. Sleep, nutrition and short walks may seem simple, but they keep the carer's resilience going.
• Allow yourself to consider institutional care as an option. Choosing a care home or day care can, in some cases, be the most suitable decision both for the older person's safety and for the family's health. It is not abandonment; it is a different form of care.
• Protect the older person's voice. In decisions about care, asking for the older person's preferences as far as their cognitive state allows both protects their dignity and increases cooperation.

When Should You Seek Professional Support?

It is normal to struggle during caregiving. However, the following signs may indicate that it is time to seek support from a mental health professional:

• Tiredness that has lasted for weeks and does not go away with rest, sleeplessness or oversleeping
• Intense anger or impatience towards the person you care for, or heavy guilt that follows
• Withdrawing completely from things you used to enjoy, constant unhappiness and hopelessness
• Ongoing conflict about care with your siblings or partner
• A marked increase in physical complaints (headaches, stomach problems, palpitations)
• Thoughts such as "I can't take it any more" or "I wish it would all end" becoming more frequent

If you are having thoughts of harming yourself or the person you care for, this is an emergency; call 112 (emergency services) immediately or go to the nearest emergency department.

How Is the Caregiver Burden Addressed in Therapy?

Therapy with carers does not aim to remove the burden of care, but to help the person who carries it protect themselves.

Within cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), the first step is to look at the thoughts going through the carer's mind: thoughts such as "I have to do everything myself", "If I ask for help I'm a bad son or daughter" or "If I take a break something will happen to them" feed anxiety and burnout. The realism of these thoughts is assessed together, and more balanced alternatives are developed. Then work is done on problem-solving, time management and boundary-setting skills.

The schema therapy perspective helps the carer understand patterns that come from the past. People who were the "responsible child" of the family and always put their own needs off may have a strong self-sacrifice schema. Recognising this schema makes it easier to make room for oneself while caring.

Making space for feelings of grief and loss is also an important part of therapy. The pain of watching a loved one change becomes more bearable the more it is talked about.

For carers, the biggest obstacle is often time. That is why online therapy can be a suitable option for carers who cannot leave home for long. I also work in Çorum both face to face and online.

Frequently Asked Questions

What proportion of households in Çorum include an older person?

According to OKA's TR83 Regional Plan, based on TÜİK data, at least one older person lived in 34.2 per cent of households in Çorum in 2022. In Turkey the figure is 24.1 per cent. This means there is an older person in roughly one in every three homes.

Is placing an ageing parent in a care home the same as abandoning them?

No. In some situations institutional care may be more suitable for the older person's safety and health than the care that can be provided at home. What matters is that the decision is made with the older person's views taken into account and that the bond is maintained through visits after the move. Feeling guilty is natural; support is available to help you cope with this feeling.

What are the first signs of caregiver burnout?

Constant tiredness, sleep problems, impatience and anger, withdrawing from social life and neglecting one's own health are common early signs. Planning breaks and support when you notice these signs can prevent burnout from deepening.

How can siblings who live far away contribute to care?

Even if they are not physically close, they can take on concrete tasks such as keeping track of appointments and medication, handling paperwork, contributing financially, making regular phone calls and coming at certain times to give the caring sibling a break. Talking openly about tasks and writing them down reduces resentment.

• #family carers
• #ageing parents
• #caregiver burden
• #family solidarity

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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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