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Long Term Care

STORY OF THE WEEK

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Almost One-Third of U.S. Adults Are Caregivers

Caregiving is still mostly a woman's job and many women are putting their career and financial futures on hold as they juggle part-time caregiving and full-time job requirements. This is the reality reported in Caregiving in the U.S. 2009, the most comprehensive examination to date of caregiving in America. The sweeping study of the legions of people caring for adults, the elderly and children with special needs reveals that 29 percent of the U.S. adult population, or 65.7 million people, are caregivers, including 31 percent of all households. These caregivers provide an average of 20 hours of care per week.

Among the findings:

American caregivers are predominantly female (66 percent) and an average of 48 years old.
Most care for a relative (86 percent), most often a parent (36 percent).
Seven in 10 caregivers care for someone over age 50.
One in seven caregivers provides care over and above regular parenting to a child with special needs (14 percent).
Caregiving lasts an average of 4.6 years.

The study also revealed that both caregivers of adults and their care recipients are now older than their counterparts were five years ago. Among caregivers of adults (ages 18 or older), the average age of the caregiver rose from 46 to 49. The change can be attributed to a decline among younger caregivers (those under the age of 50) and a shift upward among caregivers age 50 to 64. Among caregivers of adults, the average care recipient’s age increased from 67 to 69, mainly because of an increase in the percentage age 75 or older (from 43 percent to 51 percent).

The main reasons people need care are old age (12 percent), Alzheimer's disease (10 percent), mental/emotional illness (7 percent), cancer (7 percent), heart disease (5 percent) and stroke (5 percent). However, the list of illnesses/problems for which children need care is quite different. It is led by ADD/ADHD, autism, mental/emotional illness and developmental delay/mental retardation. Caregivers of children provide the most time-intensive care. Increasingly, the study reports, there is a use of prescription medication for adult care recipients.

Caregivers are also receiving more help than they were five years ago, which is encouraging news, since one in six caregivers (17 percent) report that caregiving has had a negative impact on their health. Since 2004, there has been a sharp increase in the share of caregivers of adults who say they are getting help from other unpaid caregivers — up 9 percentage points among those not caring for an adult in a nursing home. However, during the same time period, there has been a 6 percentage point decrease in those who report that their recipient uses paid help, a decrease that could potentially be linked to the recent recession.

"Caregivers report they need help looking after their loved ones, but they also need help managing their own stress," said Dennis White, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. "Those surveyed suggested potential solutions for these challenges, including greater access to information resources, emergency response devices, transportation assistance, and respite services for caregivers."

Source: The National Alliance for Caregiving, December 8, 2009

Discharge Planning Primer: Community Collaborations to Decrease Hospital Readmissions Risk

Coordinated planning of a patient's care following a hospital or nursing home stay can greatly affect health outcomes, likelihood of readmission and/or ER visits, as well as cost to patients, providers and insurers. A discharge management plan that integrates community resources and programs can further ease the transition from hospital to home and improve continuity of care. In this resource, two industry experts describe the coordinated approaches central to their hospital discharge processes and the impact their programs have had on patients' outcomes and satisfaction, hospital readmission rates and healthcare costs.

Discharge Planning Primer: Community Collaborations to Decrease Hospital Readmissions Risk is available from the Healthcare Intelligence Network for $97 by visiting our Online Bookstore or by calling toll-free (888) 446-3530.

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: This information is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information on the business of healthcare. It is distributed with the understanding that Healthcare Intelligence Network is not engaged in rendering legal advice. If legal advice is required, the services of a competent professional should be retained.