14 Must-Know Facts About Caregiving

A caregiver is a person who assists another with activities of daily living. Sometimes caregivers are trained, and other times they are untrained family or close friends helping a loved one. Although the average person thinks very little about caregiving, we all either become caregivers or will have someone be a caregiver to us at some point in our lives.

The caregiving role is a difficult but rewarding position to be in. If caregiving is on your mind, it may also be time to start comparing life insurance companies. We have a FREE life insurance comparison tool above. Just enter your zip code.

Caregiver Facts and Statistics

To highlight this role, we’ve compiled several caregiver stats and facts concerning the caregiver role, prepare you should you ever become one, and shed some light on how important caregivers are.

Fact #1 – 25% of Adults Perform Some Form of Caregiving

Roughly a quarter of U.S. adults perform some form of caregiving. Approximately 25 percent of U.S. adults 18 years of age and older reported providing care or assistance to a person with a long-term illness or disability in the past 30 days.

Fact #2 – Caregiving Impacts Mental and Physical Health

Caregiving can have significant impacts on mental and physical health.

Informal and unpaid caregiving has been reported to have negative impacts such as depression and anxiety, greater use of psychoactive medicine, poor physical health, decreased immune function, and an increased risk of early death.

More than half of caregivers note that these effects lower their ability to provide care.

Fact #3 – Caregivers are Becoming More Necessary

By 2030, the need for caregivers will have greatly increased. Between 2000 and 2030, the population aged 65 and older is expected to more than double. This population growth means an increased need for additional caregivers.

Fact #4 – Caregiving Creates a Strong Bond

Caregiving brings caregivers and their care recipients closer to each other. Almost 70 percent of caregivers said their role has brought them closer to their caree. If a caregiver is taking care of a family member, the bond is even stronger between the two people.

Fact #5 – Caregivers Offer Emotional Support

Providing emotional support is a common caregiver responsibility. The caregiving role does require offering some emotional support as well as physical help. In fact, 68 percent of caregivers reported having provided some emotional support to their caree.

Fact #6 – Caregiving is Rewarding

Most caregivers caring for their parents view their role as more rewarding than stressful. Recent studies have found that 88 percent of caregivers reported their role as being rewarding while only 32 percent said it was stressful.

Fact #7 – Caregiving Often Requires Career Sacrifices

Caregivers often make career sacrifices to care for their loved one.

According to Caregiver.org, 6 out of 10 caregivers said they’ve made work-related changes to accommodate their care recipient.

These changes came in the form of cutting hours, taking a leave of absence, being warned about their absence/performance, and more.

Fact #8 – Caregiving is not Usually a Lucrative Position

Nearly half of caregivers make below the median household income. In fact, 47 percent of caregivers report having a household income below $50,000. The median household income in the United States is $54,700.

Fact #9 – Caregiving Affects the Economic State of Women More than Men

Female caregivers are more likely to take an economic hit compared to males. Working female caregivers are statistically more likely to suffer a high level of economic hardship from their role.

Women are more likely to take a less demanding job or give up work entirely in order to take on a caregiving role. They are also more likely to lose job-related benefits compared to men in the same role.

Fact #10 – Caregiving Often Forces One to Leave Other Jobs

Taking on a caregiving role often does result in caregivers leaving their other job. Thirty-nine percent of caregivers reported leaving their job to spend more time with their loved one while thirty-four percent have to leave their job because their job does not offer flexible hours.

Fact #11 – Family Caregiving Requires a lot of Time

Family caregivers spend a lot of their weekly time helping their loved one. Family caregivers spend almost half of a 40-hour workweek caregiving.

The average family caregiver spends roughly 20 hours per week caring for a loved one.

Thirteen percent of family caregivers provide 40 or more hours per week.

Fact #12 – Most Care Recipients Recieve In-Home Care

Most care recipients live in their own home or their caregiver’s home. Fifty-one percent of carees live in their own home while twenty-nine percent live with their family caregiver. Only four percent live in an assisted living home.

Fact #13 – Caregivers Often Drain Their Savings to Provide Care

Caregivers often have to use their savings. Almost half of caregivers state they have had to use most if not all of their savings to fulfill their role due to an increase in caregiving expenses.

Fact #14 – Caring for a Person with Dementia has Long-Term Effects

Dementia caregiving can have long-term mental health impacts. Studies show that the stress from caring for a dementia patient impacts a person’s health up to three years after the role ends.

Having this added stress increases the chances of developing a chronic illness even after the caregiving role has ended.

How to Combat Caregiver Struggles

These facts show the common struggles that caregivers often face, whether its financial, mental, and physical. The facts also show that caregiving greatly affects a person’s personal life.

In light of these observances, here are a few actions you can take should you find yourself taking on the caregiver role.

Make a Caregiving Plan Before it’s Needed

Have a caregiving plan in place for your parents beforehand. Sit down with your parents and work with them to create a caregiving plan should they ever need it.

Highlight who will take on the responsibilities, divide them up if possible, and identify the appropriate actions that would need to take place. This means taking note of where they’d live, what type of help they’d need, and if you should hire someone to take care of them.

Use Appropriate Resources to Plan Well

Turn to the appropriate resources for help. Because of the internet, being a caregiver has never been easier. There is a plethora of caregiver resources, groups, blogs, and guides that can be a major source of support, knowledge, and help.

Using these resources can alleviate the pressure and stress that comes with caregiving.

Have a Plan for Your Parents’ Deaths

Have a plan in place for your parents after they’re gone. Of all the stressful topics, death may be the most stressful topic to cover, but it is still good to prepare.

Make sure you sit down with your loved one to go over what happens after they die.

Make sure they have a life insurance policy in place to cover funeral expenses and any other expenses that may come as a result.

If they don’t have life insurance, be sure to select the right kind of insurance that fits their needs whether that is term life insurance or whole life insurance.

About the Author:

Brandon Landgraf is a digital marketing manager and content creator for Carex Health Brands, a health and wellness brand whose mission is to improve the lives of others. He enjoys writing content that empowers others to live better, be healthier, and lead happier lifestyles.