Family Caregivers Under Increasing Strain

The number of family members providing ongoing care for loved ones with complex medical conditions or disabilities is on the rise and a new report finds that they are struggling to hold it all together.

There are 63 million Americans serving as family caregivers — accounting for nearly 1 in 4 adults — a figure that’s up almost 50% since 2015.

The report from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving finds that family caregivers are coping with poor health, financial strain and isolation.

“The data reveals a portrait of ordinary Americans providing extraordinary care,” said Jason Resendez, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving. “This research makes painfully clear that family caregiving is no longer a looming crisis — it’s a daily reality that 63 million Americans shoulder every day.”

The report is based on a survey of a nationally representative group of 6,858 adults who provided care for an adult family member or friend or a child with a complex medical condition or disability in the previous year.

About a quarter of caregivers surveyed provide 40 hours or more of care each week and a third have been doing this work for at least five years, according to the report. Nearly 1 in 3 are also raising children under age 18.

Many are financially impacted by their family caregiving responsibilities, with nearly half saying that they have taken on debt, stopped saving or had another major impact on their finances. About 60% of family caregivers are employed and many say they’ve gone into work late, left early or needed other accommodations as a result of their care obligations.

The report found that nearly a quarter of family caregivers struggle to care for their own health and many lack training to perform the care they provide. What’s more, the vast majority are unpaid and they increasingly report feeling emotionally stressed and socially isolated.

“When nearly 1 in 4 adults are providing complex care with virtually no training, and more than 13 million struggle to care for their own health while caring for others, we cannot continue to treat family caregiving as invisible labor,” Resendez said. “It’s past time for a national reckoning with how we value care in this country — and for Congress, states and employers to act with policies that reflect the essential role family caregivers play in our society.”