“In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”
–Mother Teresa
Currently, one in four U.S. households cares for a family member or friend over 50.
More than 65 million people, 29% of the U.S. population, provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend during any given year and spend an average of 20 hours per week providing care for their loved one.1 This is called family (or informal) caregiving.
Caring for a family member or loved one at home may mean providing only minimal help or it may require 24-hour-a-day assistance. Help may be required for some everyday activities, such as eating, bathing, or using the toilet — or with most activities as well as professional nursing or medical care. Even when caregivers take advantage of all the outside help available, the job remains intense.
The typical family caregiver is a 49-year-old woman caring for her widowed 69-year-old mother who does not live with her. She is married and employed. Approximately 66% of family caregivers are women. More than 37% have children or grandchildren under 18 years old living with them.1 Half of all caregivers are older persons themselves.
Most care recipients are female and many are widowed (42%). The average age of care recipients is 75 years old; one in five care recipients is 85 or older. More than half of care recipients live in their own home. The most common health problems for care recipients older than 50 are diabetes, cancer and heart disease.2