November is National Family Caregiver Month
November is National Caregivers Month in honor of the approximately 43 million people across the nation who care for aging parents and/or spouses or family members who are ill. It’s a startling figure for sure, with more than one-third of caregivers are aged 50 to 64, about one-fourth are 35 to 49, and another fourth are 18- to 34-year-olds.
"These everyday heroes, living quietly among us in families and communities across the country, are the major source of long-term care in America,”
President Bill Clinton said in his 2000 proclamation of National Family Caregivers Month, “By providing billions of dollars’ worth of caregiving services each year, they dramatically reduce the demands on our Nation's health care system and make an extraordinary contribution to the quality of life of their loved ones."
Family caregivers spend an average of 24.4 hours per week providing care, whereas nearly 1 in 4 caregivers spend 41 hours or more per week providing care. Older caregivers are more likely to care for a spouse or partner. The average age of spousal caregivers is 62.3.
The average duration of a caregiver’s role is 4 years.
Only 30% of caregivers provide care for less than a year.
24% of caregivers provide care for more than 5 years.
15% of caregivers provide care for 10 or more years. Higher-hour caregivers are twice as likely to have been in their caregiving role for 10 years or more.
Regardless of employment status, unpaid caregivers report that positive activities in their respective daily lives are reduced by 27.2% as a result of their caregiving responsibilities. This effect is three times greater in their personal lives than in their professional lives. [Coughlin, J. (2010).
Measured by duration of care, dementia caregivers (including Alzheimer’s) provide care on average 1-4 years more than caregivers caring for someone with an illness other than Alzheimer's disease. They are also more likely to be providing care for five years or longer. [Alzheimer’s Association. (2015). 2015 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures.]
A vast majority of caregivers (85%) care for a relative or other loved one:
5%, or nearly 3.5 million of all family caregivers are spousal caregivers.
42% care for a parent (31% for a mother, 11% for a father);
15% care for a friend, neighbor or another non-relative;
14 % care for a child;
7% care for a parent-in-law;
7% care for a grandparent or grandparent-in-law.
Based on a 2011 online study from Caregiver.com, 74 percent of caregivers have either had to change their job situation or are not working. These results, coupled with the findings that 42 percent are spending more than $5,000 a year on caring and over 60 percent are concerned about the impact that providing care is having on their savings, clearly demonstrate that the financial toll of caregiving is a major issue for the millions of Americans who care for their loved ones.
Caregiving also results in measurable emotional costs. The survey indicates that caring for a loved one is the number-one source of stress , a whopping 69 percent, ahead of the ever-changing economy, and other family medical challenges. In terms of family relationships, more than a quarter said their relationships had been negatively impacted by providing care.
75 percent say their caregiver role is a source of pride because they're making a difference for their loved one.
While this only represents a small portion of the statistics available today regarding caregiving, the goal is to help others understand the physical and emotional impact of caregiving on the individual providing the care, as well as the family unit.
What does all this mish-mash of numbers mean? We, as a society and culture, are more than likely going to be in the position of taking on a primary caregiver role. While for many, the decision is made out of love and respect, the planning and process moving forward can be daunting, frightening, and overwhelming.. So today’s mission? Reach out to a caregiver, and just simply ask, “what can I do for you?”
Sources:
National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. (2015). Caregiving in the U.S.
https://www.caregiver.org/caregiver-statistics-demographics
