Try: More than 43 million americans serve as unpaid caregivers for adults who are 50 years of age or older the impact of care giving is far reaching caregivers often need to make significant changes in personal lifestyles work schedules and professional lives the caregivers physical and emotional well being can suffer along with finances and social lives if the care recipient’s medical condition and cognitive functioning become very poor caregivers sometime need to drop everything in their personal lives and become "consumed" by care giving responsibilities for extended periods of time the statistics are staggering and show that in the not too distant future there will be an ever increasing need for caregivers senior services medical services senior housing senior ministry and other supports for both care recipients and caregivers the need for caregivers is growing rapidly because as of january 1 2011 baby boomers were turning 65 at the rate of 10 000 per day for the next 17 years sixty-five million caregivers who account for 29 of the total u s adult population provide care to someone who is ill disabled or aged caregivers of adults are now older on average than caregivers in 2004 the average age is now 49 2 years compared to 46 4 in 2004 more women than men are caregivers with an estimated 66 of caregivers being female with an average age of 48 unpaid caregivers spend an average of twenty to forty hours a week caring for a family member with one-third of those providing care for five years or more forty-three percent of americans anticipate that in the next five years they will have to either provide care for themselves or help find care for a family member or friend the national median hourly rate for a licensed home health aide in the united states based on a forty-four hour work week is 19 per hour or 43 472 per year seventy-three percent of family members serving as primary caregivers to loved ones reported a reduction in their savings because of care giving responsibilities eighty-three percent of caregivers contribute financially to the care of a family member two-thirds of people over the age of 65 will need long term care in their lifetime of the more than 43 million americans who serve as unpaid caregivers one in four say they have a difficult time coordinating care four million u s households have three generations living in them fifty-six percent of caregivers don’t identify themselves as "caregivers" because they are just doing what is expected of them as a daughter a spouse etc the close relationship between the caregiver and care recipient is a shared relationship with involved emotions experiences and memories this can place a caregiver at a higher risk for psychological and physical illness eighty-six percent of caregivers care for a relative with 36 caring for a parent sixty-four percent of caregivers are employed as well as caring for a relative or friend seventy percent of working caregivers suffer work-related difficulties due to their care giving roles seventy percent of working caregivers make some job changes to accommodate their care giving role twelve percent of caregivers reduced work hours or took a less demanding job while 9 give up work entirely losing job related benefits care giving has shown to reduce work productivity by 18 5 and increase the likelihood of leaving the workplace the majority of caregivers 72 live within twenty minutes of the care recipient and 13 live within an hour of the care recipient twenty-three percent of family caregivers who have been providing care for five years or more report their health is fair or poor forty-nine percent of caregivers use at least one of three specific types of help on behalf of their care recipient the most commonly used is outside transportation services 29 followed by financial assistance 28 twelve percent use respite services caregivers under the age of 50 are more likely than older caregivers to use the benefits of care giving technology the most important benefits are saving time 77 care giving made easier logistically 76 making the care recipient feel safer 75 increasing the caregiver’s feelings of being effective 74 and reducing stress 74 information references adapted from family caregiver alliance genworth aarp
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Categories: Caregiver Needs&Support
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Keywords: Care giving psychological and physical illness transportation social aspects
*This information is listed as a Fact Sheet and is not explicitly medically licensed