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Date
2014
Abstract
- Definition: Informal caregivers are unpaid individuals (often a spouse, partner, family member, friend or neighbor) involved in supporting others in activities of daily living.
- Caregiver burden is an emerging public health issue largely attributed to longer life expectancy that not only increases the number of elderly individuals, but also the level of dependency in these individuals.
- Despite many formal support services, informal support continues to be the primary source of care for the elderly, dependent and disabled.
- Unpaid family caregivers will likely continue to be the primary source of long-term care in the United States as the aging population will more than double between the years 2000 and 2030 from 35.1 million to 71.5 million.
- In 2009, three in ten U.S. households reported at least one person providing unpaid care as a family caregiver.
- Caregivers report performing housekeeping and personal tasks, running errands, managing medical needs and more.
- Caregivers spend on average 20.4 hours per week providing care. Those who live with their care recipient spend 39.3 hours per week caring for that person.
Keywords
Caregivers, Vermont
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Disciplines
Medical Education | Primary Care
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Sarah, "Caregiver Burden: Finding Resources, Offering Support" (2014). Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects. 5.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/5