Senior Care Fact Sheet (United States)

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WHO NEEDS HOME CARE?

1. An estimated 36.8 million people - 12.4% of the population - are 65 and older.
2. The U.S. population age 65 and older is expected to double in size within the next 25 years.
3. By 2030, almost 1 in 5 Americans - some 72 million people - will be 65 or older.
4. The 85+ population is projected to double from 4.7 million in 2003 to 9.6 million in 2030 - and double again to 20.9 million in 2050.
5. In 1960, only 1.6% of older men and 1.5% of women age 65 and older were divorced. By 2003, 7% of older men and 8.6% of older women were divorced and had not remarried.
6. About 80% of seniors have at least one chronic health condition and 50% have at least two.Source(s):
   1. Obtained directly from U.S. Census Bureau (2006)
   2-4.  U.S. Census Bureau Web Site: www.census.gov (2006)
   5-6. U.S. Census Bureau: 65+ in the United States 2005 (2005)

WHO PROVIDES HOME CARE?

1. Nearly 25% of all American adults currently provide daily companionship or assistance to a parent or relative.
2. Approximately 60% of family caregivers are women.
3. The typical family caregiver is a 46-year-old woman caring for her widowed mother who does not live with her. She is married and employed.
4. An estimated 88% of married individuals report their spouse as their key caregiver.Source(s)
   1. Harris Interactive Study for Home Instead Senior Care (2003)
   2-3. National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP: Caregiving in the U.S. (2004)
   4.  U.S. Census Bureau: 65+ in the United States (2005)

WHO NEEDS HELP?

1. Approximately 37% of family caregivers spend more than 40 hours a week providing care, and 30% spend 20 to 39 hours per week doing so.
2. Nearly seven in 10 (69%) family caregivers spend less time with family and friends since becoming caregivers.
3. Nine in 10 family caregivers (91%) surveyed - all in fair/poor health - suffer from depression, and eight in 10 (81%) of those with depression report that caregiving had made their depression worse.
4. Approximately 62% of family caregivers who work have had to make some adjustments to their work life, from reporting late to work to giving up work entirely.
5. Nearly one in five caregivers (17%) says they provide more than 40 hours of care per week to a loved one.
6. A wife’s hospitalization increased her husband’s chances of dying within a month by 35%. A husband’s hospitalization boosted his wife’s mortality risk by 44%.
7. Extreme stress can take as much as 10 years off a family caregiver’s life.
8. Family caregivers report having a chronic condition at more than twice the rate of non-caregivers.Source(s):
   1-3. Evercare: Evercare Study of Caregivers in Decline: A Close-up Look at the Health Risks of Caring for a Loved One ( www.evercarehealthplans.com, 2006)
   4-5, 8. National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP: Caregiving in the U.S. (2004)
   6. New England Journal of Medicine (2006)
   7. Peter S. Arno: Economic Value of Informal Caregiving (2006)