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- June 8, 2008
Who’s Taking Care of Your Parents?
Baby boomers are providing care for aging parents in record numbers, and many are overwhelmed by the physical and emotional demands.
A study sponsored by ElderCarelink highlights some familiar issues and includes a few surprises. Nearly 700 respondents, from all 50 states, answered the on-line questionnaire designed to explore family caregiving.
According to Robert Brooks, CEO of ElderCarelink, “The results highlighted emerging issues and also validated trends that previous surveys have identified.”
* Female caregivers outnumber males by 6 to 1 and report more emotional and physical impact due to caregiving than their male counterparts, but in other ways male and female respondents are very similar.
* Forty-one percent of all caregivers actually live with the care recipient.
* Most caregivers are married with some college education and have children who are grown and no longer living at home.
* Nearly one third provide more than 40 hours of care per week, and 57% say they very rarely or never take time off from their caregiving duties.
* As a result of their responsibilities, some 60% of all caregivers report their health has deteriorated since they began providing care, and 69% describe feeling overwhelmed by caregiving.
Family life is also impacted by caregiving, with 39% of respondents reporting conflicts with other family members about the care recipient. A significant number also report financial hardship and difficulty maintaining their own homes and family.
“These results are important,” says Brooks, “because they confirm the growing impact that caregiving is having on families across the U.S.”
According to Brooks, the survey and its results form the first phase of a comprehensive database on caregiving which will be available through ElderCarelink. For more detailed information visit eldercarelink.com.
