Caregiver Facts and Statistics

If you fit the description of a family, or informal, caregiver, you are not alone. According to a 1996 survey by the National Association for Home Care, an estimated 22 million U.S. households have at least one member who provides some level of unpaid care to a relative or other person over 50. Three-fourths of these caregivers are female and nearly one-third are over age 65.

Caregiver Facts and Statistics

• Nearly one-quarter (22.9%) of all people aged 65 and older in this country are functionally disabled or currently in need of some form of long-term care (Tennstedt, 1999)
  
  
• Families have always been the primary source of help to disabled elders. It is estimated that family and friends are the sole source of assistance for nearly three-quarters of impaired older adults in the community. They are also the preferred source of help for most elders (Tennstedt, 1999)
  
  
• More than twelve million Americans require some kind of long-term care. Long-term care refers to a broad range of personal, social, and medical services required by people with chronic illnesses and disabilities. The large majority of persons needing long-term care are living in their homes or the home of a family member. This is possible because millions of informal and unpaid caregivers help them. This caregiving can continue for a month or for years. Approximately 1.5 million individuals have more substantial needs and are in nursing homes. (Kaiser Family Foundation, June 2002)
  
  
• Findings of the National Alliance of Caregiving/AARP study (1997) indicate that the majority of caregivers are women.



• Spouses are the first source of caregiving assistance and provide the most extensive and most comprehensive care.(Tennstedt, 1999)



• Offspring are usually the next source of informal care, with daughters more likely than sons to be in this role. One family member typically tends to provide the majority of informal care. (Tennstedt, 1999)



• Caregivers typically live in close proximity to the care recipient.



• It has been reported that there is a higher incidence of caregiving among Asian-Americans, African-Americans, and Hispanic households than the general population. (NAC/AARP, 1997)



• In 1997, nearly one in four U.S. households was involved in caring for an older family member or friend. (Coleman, 2000)



• "Informal" (unpaid) caregivers are the backbone of the long-term care system in America today. Without the assistance of these family caregivers, many older people with disabilities would be forced to enter institutions for their care. Policymakers recognize savings in public dollars when family caregivers help their relatives stay at home. (Coleman, 2000).



• Caregivers provide an average of 18 hours per week on caregiving, with almost one-fifth (18.6%) of caregivers providing constant care for 40 hours or more per week.(NAC/AARP, 1997)



• Activities of daily living, or ADLs, include walking, dressing, eating, using the toilet, bathing, and getting into and out of bed. People who receive help, use equipment, or have difficulty with an ADL have ADL limitations. Instrumental activities of daily living, or IADLs, include meal preparation, grocery shopping, making phone calls, taking medications, and money management. People who need help or can't perform an IADL have IADL limitations. (National Academy on an Aging Society, 2000)



• Dementia caregivers provide more hours of care (19.0 vs. 12.5 hrs.), more tpes of care, and are more likely to help with personal ADLs (activities of daily living) than are non-dementia caregivers.(Tennstedt, 1999)



• The vast majority of long term care is provided informally, and privately, at no public cost. (National Academy on an Aging Society, 2000)



• It is estimated there are 172,955 informal caregivers in Utah. The estimated value of informal caregiving (millions of dollars) is $1,316.9. (The Alzheimer's Association)



• The aggregate costs in lost productivity to U.S. business due to caregiving is $11.4 billion per year; the range is actually 11.4 to 29 billion per year. (NAC/AARP, 1997)



• A study by MetLife (1999) indicated that working caregivers can incur significant losses in career development, salary and retirement income, and substantial out-of-pocket expenses as a result of caregiving obligations.



• According to the most recent National Long-Term Care Survey, over 7 million people are informal caregivers. These caregivers provide help to 5.2 million older peole with disabilities living in the community with at least one functional limitation in their activities of daily living. If the work of caregivers had to be replaced by paid home care, the cost would be $45-94 billion per year. (Administration of Aging, 2000)

• Administration on Aging (2000). America's Families Care: A Report on the Needs of America's Family Caregivers. www.aoa.dhhs.gov/carenetwork/report.html
• Alzheimer's Association (1999). News Release. www.alz.org
• Coleman, B. (2000). Helping the helpers: State-supported Services for family caregivers. AARP Public Policy Institute. Washington, D.C. (#2000-07).
• MetLife (1999). The MetLife Juggling Act Study. Balancing Caregiving with Work and the Cost involved. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
• National Alliance for Caregiving and the American Association of Retired Persons (1997). Family Caregiving in the U.S.: Findings from a National Survey. Bethesda, MD.
• Tennstedt, S. (1999). Family caregiving in an aging society. Paper presented at U.S. Administration on Aging Symposium: Longevity in the New Century. Baltimore, MD. March, 29, 1999.
• Wright, S. (2001). Utah Handbook on Aging. University of Utah Gerontology Center. Salt Lake City, Utah.

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