The Imperfect Caregiver

Someone  in your town needs help.

Often when we think of caregivers our thoughts go to people caring for aging parents with Alzheimer’s disease. However, that is only part of the story. Included in this vastly growing demographic are spousal caregivers, teens caring for parents, grandparents or siblings, parents caring for children with lifelong disabilities and friends caring for those with no family support. Most quietly care for their loved ones for years often going without sleep, proper medical care, or time to take a bath. They skip meals and rarely leave the house.

Caregivers need someone to care for them. Not every day. Not for hours at a time. Caregivers long for someone to say, “I’m going to the store, make a list of what you need and I’ll pick it up for you.” When you do this include an inexpensive bouquet of flowers or a pint of ice cream as a surprise.

Every now and then make two batches of whatever you are cooking for dinner and take one to the caregiver.

Drop by on the weekend and let the caregiver take a shower or a bath free of worry their loved one will fall or need help.

Simply sit and talk to him or her for a while. Let her vent. Let himwatch a football game if he wants to.

Little things mean so much to caregivers. They are not superheroes or saints. They are people like you and me. People who need kindness and understanding.

Someone in your town needs help.

The following information is from The Family Caregiver Alliance, National Center on Caregiving, https://www.caregiver.org/selected-caregiver-statistics

Who are the Informal Caregivers?

Although there may appear to be wide discrepancies in estimates of the number of informal caregivers in the U.S., the figures cited below reflect variations in the definitions and criteria used in each study, e.g., age of care recipients surveyed or relationship of caregiver to care recipient.

Magnitude

• 65.7 million caregivers make up 29% of the U.S. adult population providing care to someone who is ill, disabled or aged.
  [The National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP (2009), Caregiving in the U.S. National Alliance for Caregiving. Washington, DC.] – Updated: November 2012
• 52 million caregivers provide care to adults (aged 18+) with a disability or illness.
  [Coughlin, J., (2010). Estimating the Impact of Caregiving and Employment on Well-Being: Outcomes & Insights in Health Management, Vol. 2; Issue 1] – Updated: November 2012
• 43.5 million of adult family caregivers care for someone 50+ years of age and 14.9 million care for someone who has Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia.
  [Alzheimer’s Association, 2011 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, Alzheimer‘s and Dementia , Vol.7, Issue 2.] – Updated: November 2012
• LGBT respondents are slightly more likely to have provided care to an adult friend or relative in the past six months: 21% vs. 17%.
  [MetLife: Still Out, Still Aging 2010. Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Baby Boomers] – Updated: November 2012

Economic Value

• Caregiver services were valued at $450 billion per year in 2009- up from $375 billion in year 2007.
  [Valuing the Invaluable: 2011 Update, The Economic Value of Family Caregiving. AARP Public Policy Institute.] – Updated: November 2012
• The value of unpaid family caregivers will likely continue to be the largest source of long-term care services in the U.S., and the aging population 65+ will more than double between the years 2000 and 2030, increasing to 71.5 million from 35.1 million in 2000.
  [Coughlin, J., (2010). Estimating the Impact of Caregiving and Employment on Well-Being: Outcomes & Insights in Health Management, Vol. 2; Issue 1] – Updated: November 2012

Gender

• More women than men are caregivers: an estimated 66% of caregivers are female. One-third (34%) take care of two or more people, and the average age of a female caregiver is 48.0.
  [The National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP (2009), Caregiving in the U.S. National Alliance for Caregiving. Washington, DC.] – Updated: November 2012
• Male caregivers are less likely to provide personal care, but 24% helped a loved one get dressed compared to 28% of female caregivers. 16% of male caregivers help with bathing versus 30% of females. 40% of male caregivers use paid assistance for a loved one’s personal care. Approximately 14.5 million caregivers are men out of the 43.4% who care for an older family member.
  [The National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP (2009), Caregiving in the U.S. National Alliance for Caregiving. Washington, DC.] – Updated: November 2012
• The gender balance shifts to close to equal participation among 18 to 49 year-old-care recipients (47% of caregivers are male), while among the 50+ recipients, it tips to females (32% male, 68% female).
  [The National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP (2009), Caregiving in the U.S. National Alliance for Caregiving. Washington, DC.] – Updated: November 2012
• Research suggests that the number of male caregivers may be increasing and will continue to do so due to a variety of social demographic factors.
  [Kramer, B. J. & E. H. Thompson, (eds.), “Men as Caregivers,” (New York: Prometheus Books, 2002).] – Updated: November 2012

For more facts and figures go to https://www.caregiver.org/selected-caregiver-statistics