There are many questions to ponder when contemplating becoming family caregivers. Family caregivers encompass everyone from a spouse, children, sibling, life partner or even a close neighbor. While I provided care to my mother for 9 ½ years, there are statistics and other information I have discovered which I want to share about family caregivers:
- Family caregivers
provide an estimated 90% of care in America. - Data shows 17% of
the American full-time workforce are caregivers, and this amounts to a combined
126,222,624 missed workdays each year, at an estimated cost to the U.S. economy
of $25.2 billion in lost productivity. - More than 75% of
all caregivers are female who may spend as much as 50% more time providing care
than their male counterparts. - Approximately 9%
of caregivers self-identify as LGBT. - Adults ages 45 to
64 are the most likely to be in a family caregiver role. - An average
caregiver aged 50 or older who stops work to be a full-time caregiver will
forego $303,880 in wages, Social Security and pensions benefits. - In a survey of
how family caregivers met the financial obligations of a loved one’s long-term
care needs: 93% of caregivers reported using their own income to help pay for
care; 74% personally provided care in a loved one’s home; 54% brought their
loved one into their home, and 49% used their own savings to help pay for care. - Approximately
43.5 million caregivers have provided unpaid care to an adult or child in the
last 12 months. - Approximately 34.2
million Americans have provided unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older in the
last 12 months. - On average, family caregivers spend
24.4 hours per week providing care. Nearly 1 in 4 caregivers spends 41 hours or
more per week providing care. - Approximately
85% of all caregivers are family caregivers and 42% of them care for a mother
(31%) or father (11%.) - Approximately 16.6%
of all Americans (39.8million) are caregivers to persons over the age of 18
with a disability or illness. - Primary family caregivers of
people with dementia report spending an average of 9 hours per day assisting
their relatives. - In 2014, the
estimated financial value of care provided to persons with Alzheimer’s or
Dementia by unpaid caregivers was $217.7 billion. - Family and other
unpaid caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias
provide an estimated 21.9 hours of care per week.
References:
The National Academy of Medicine
National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP
Alzheimer’s Association
Institute on Aging
Pew Research Center
Bureau of Labor Statistics
