More Caregivers Are No Spring Chickens Themselves
More Caregivers Are No Spring Chickens Themselves
Every few years, the National Alliance for Caregiving and the AARP Public Policy Institute survey the state of American caregiving; their latest report, published last month, focused in part on caregivers over 75. They constitute 7 percent of those who provide unpaid care to a relative or friend, the survey found — more than three million seniors helping with the activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, using a toilet), instrumental activities of daily living (shopping, transportation, dealing with the health care system) and a rising tide of medical and nursing tasks.Almost half of them report caring for a spouse; the others assist siblings and other relatives, friends or neighbors, most also 75 or older. About 8 percent of these oldest caregivers still care for parents. The aging of the population has thrust more seniors into this role, said Gail Hunt, president and chief executive of the National Alliance for Caregiving. “There didn’t use to be so many 95-year-olds,” she said, “and someone’s caring for those 95-year-olds.”People over 75, can find caregiving particularly taxing. They spend an average of 34 hours a week on caregiving tasks, the report found, 10 hours more than caregivers over all, and they are less apt to have other unpaid help.Because 46 percent take care of spouses, they are also more likely to be live-in caregivers, a known source of strain. “You’re responsible for their safety,” Ms. Hunt said. “You have to interact with the person all day long and maybe all night long, so your sleep is disturbed. It’s more stress than if you’re coming over periodically to help.”“Just the physical part of it, the lifting and bathing and all of that, can hurt you,” said Donna Wagner, dean of the College of Health and Social Services at New Mexico State University and a longtime researcher on family caregiving. Older caregivers, typically women, have their own health issues.There is no great mystery about the kinds of policies and programs that could better sustain caregivers. Ms. Hunt rattled off several, including regular respite care, home aides covered by Medicare, tax credits for family caregivers and more subsidized adult day programs. When asked if she foresaw more government support for such efforts, she laughed. Other Western countries do a better job, she said.http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/07/07/Image courtesy of Witthaya Phonsawat at FreeDigitalPhotos.net