According to the National
Alliance for Caregiving (NAC), “we need to help current at-risk
caregivers so that they can continue to provide care to family and
friends without sacrificing their health, financial security, and
quality of life in the process” (NAC, 2005, p. 32).
Who does the caregiving?
*More than 34 million unpaid caregivers
care for ill or disabled people aged 18+ (CDC, 2011).
*90% of long-term care is provided by
unpaid caregivers (CDC, 2011).
*21% of households in the U.S. have
caregiving responsibilities (CDC, 2011).
What do caregivers do?
*79% of caregivers take care of someone
50 or more years old (NAC, 2005, p. 10).
*20% of caregivers take care of someone
18-49 years old (NAC, 2005, p. 10). Of these, 23% care for someone
who is mentally ill (NAC, 2005, p. 11).
*50% of caregivers help perform
personal care Activities of Daily Living, such as dressing or getting
out of bed (NAC, 2005, pp. 14-15).
How are caregivers affected?
*35% of caregivers experience emotional
stress as a result of caregiving (NAC, 2005, p. 2).
*51% of caregivers lose time with
friends and family; 44% give up vacations, hobbies and social time,
and 26% get less exercise than when they were not caregivers (NAC,
2005, p. 21).
How do they cope?
*Strategies used for coping with stress
include prayer, talking with friends or relatives, reading or seeking
information on the Internet about caregiving, exercising, talking to
a counselor, and taking medication (NAC, 2005, p. 20).
What do they need?
*Caregivers expressed a need for help
with finding time for self, balancing work and family
responsibilities, managing emotional and physical stress, and finding
easy activities to do with the person they care for (NAC, 2005, p.
26).
References
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) (2011). Family caregiving: the facts. Retrieved
from http://www.cdc.gov/aging/caregiving/facts.htm.
The National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC)
(2005). Caregiving in the U.S. Retrieved from
http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/us_caregiving_1.pdf.
Wow I never knew caregivers deal with so much stress. Thank you for doing this topic. This topic hits close to home because I know one day we will all be caregivers to someone we love. I have repeatedly seen my dad put vacation on the back burner to take care of my grandparents. It is crazy to see from the outside, but when love is involved, most of us are willing to do anything.
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