AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving have released a report entitled, “Caregiving in the U.S.” It is at http://www.aarp.org/uscaregiving.
The report found that that the number of family caregivers in the U.S. increased by 9.5 million from 2015 to 2020 and now encompasses more than one in five Americans. It also reveals that family caregivers are in worse health compared to five years ago.
Many individuals are caring for a longer time, with nearly a third (29 percent) of caregivers nationwide reporting they have been caregiving for five years or more—up from 24 percent in the last study.
This new study shows that the profile of the family caregiver is changing. While caregiving spans all generations, more young people are providing care, including 6 percent who are Generation Z and 23 percent who are Millennials. Nearly half (45 percent) are caring for someone with two or more conditions—a significant jump from 37 percent in 2015.
The report also describes many of the challenges facing caregivers, including personal health and finance issues, debt loads and impacts on short-term savings. On average, caregivers spend 23.7 hours a week providing care.