07/10/2022
a bit of U.S. Caregiver Statistics
Unpaid caregivers provide an estimated 90% of the long-term care (IOM, 2008).
An estimated 21% of households in the United States are impacted by caregiving responsibilities (NAC, 2004).
More than 34 million unpaid caregivers provide care to someone age 18 and older who is ill or has a disability (AARP, 2008).
The typical caregiver is a 46-year-old woman with some college experience and provides more than 20 hours of care each week to her mother (NAC, 2004).
About 30% said they need help keeping the person they care for safe, and 27% would like to find easy activities to do with the person they care for (NAC, 2004).
The majority (83%) are family caregivers - unpaid persons such as family members, friends, and neighbors of all ages who are providing care for a relative (FCA, 2005)
Half (53%) of caregivers who said their health had gotten worse due to caregiving also said the decline in their health has affected their ability to provide care (NAC, 2006).
Caregivers report having difficulty finding time for one's self (35%), managing emotional and physical stress (29%), and balancing work and family responsibilities (29%) (NAC, 2004).
About 73% of surveyed caregivers said praying helps them cope with caregiving stress, 61% said that they speak with or seek advice from friends or relatives, and 44% read about caregiving in books or other materials (NAC, 2004).
The out-of-pocket costs for caregivers who are caring for someone who was age 50 or older averaged $5,531 in 2007. About 37% of caregivers for someone age 50 and older reduced their work hours or quit their job in 2007 (AARP, 2008).
Caregivers said they do not go to the doctor because they put their family's needs first (67% said that is a major reason), or they put the care recipient's needs over their own (57%). More than half (51%) said they do not have time to take care of themselves, and almost half (49%) said they are too tired to do so (NAC, 2004).
