One in four Americans aged 50 or more years are caring for a family member or friend, according to the results of a new poll from the University of Michigan.
The poll was a nationally representative survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for the University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. Responses were collected online and via phone in February and March among approximately 3,400 Americans nationwide; participants were aged 50 to 101.
“Nationwide, these data confirm that caregiving for family and friends who have health challenges falls unevenly on people in their 50s and early 60s, and women,” stated Sarah Patterson, PhD, the U-M demographer who worked with the poll team on the new survey.
Data show that 30% of Americans in their 50s and early 60s provide care to at least one person with a health issue or disability; for those aged 65 or more years, 23% provide care to at least one person. Ten percent of respondents in their 50s and early 60s are providing care to as many as three people, the survey found.
Thirty-two percent of all female respondents aged 50 or more years said that they are caregivers to at least one person, compared with 22% of men in the same age demographic.
When asked who should take the lead on covering the cost for caring for people over 65, 45% of the respondents aged 50 or more years said the government should take the lead. Twenty-seven percent said it should be the person receiving care, 18% said it should be family or friends, and 10% said it should be other sources.
Fifty-one percent of the respondents that are caregivers felt the government should take the lead on absorbing costs.
The research revealed that 61% of those providing care to family or friends with a health condition or disability don’t know that they can turn for Area Agencies on Aging for help and referrals.
