The American Time Use Survey released a report that stated that last year about 40 million people over the age of 15 have provided care to an elderly person with a disease that is related to aging. Among those who were surveyed, about a quarter of those who are 45 to 64 stated that they were elder care providers. 16% of those were older than 65% said the same thing. Of this surveyed group, about 33% of them said that they were caring for two or more people. But in the vast majority of cases, people who provided care the elderly people maintained a separate household. The majority of these people are women. Time wise, 20% of the caregivers reported that they provide care to elderly relative or non-relative every day, 24% provided several times a week, and 20% provided care only once a week. Once again, women spent more time here too.
Unfortunately, this survey is a little bit over-inclusive. The survey states that a person qualifies as giving care only if the person is providing support, companionship, or just “being available to assist when help is needed.'”
See Paula Span, New Numbers on Elder Care, The New Old Age, Caring and Coping, July 5, 2012.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.
