As baby boomers age, more and more family members are providing care for aging parents and relatives. These family caregivers are the cornerstone of our long-term care system, providing millions of hours of unpaid services. This assistance runs the gamut from running the occasional errand, such as shopping or picking up medications, to providing a significant amount of personal and/or nursing care. Caregiving can be gratifying and meaningful, but at the same time, the ongoing responsibilities take a toll on many caregivers' physical, mental and economic health. Policy-makers have begun to recognize the impact that this trend will have on coming generations.

• Informal or family caregiving refers to family members or friends who provide or manage some aspects of the care of people who need help because they are ill, infirm or living with a disability.
• A recent national survey by the National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) found that more than one quarter (27 percent) of the adult population has provided care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend during the past year. That represents more than 54 million caregivers based on current census data.
• A 1996 survey sponsored by the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), found that 36 percent of caregivers were over the age of 50, and nearly 40 percent were between 35 and 49.
• Traditionally, caregiving primarily has been seen as a woman's responsibility. The NAC survey found that 73 percent of caregivers were female. However the number of men actively involved in caregiving is increasing. In 2000, the NFCA survey found 44 percent of caregivers were men and approximately 40 percent of them were providing assistance in basic activities of daily living and nursing assistance.
• The NAC survey found that close to two-thirds (66 percent) of caregivers nationwide were married and 41 percent had one or more children under age 18 living in the household.
• 50 percent of all caregivers perform care for at least eight hours a week, and nearly 20 percent provide 40 hours or more of care per week, according to the NAC survey.
• The survey also found that nearly 64 percent of caregivers are working full or part-time. 40 percent of those who are providing more than 50 hours per week of caregiving are also working.
• The national economic value of informal care provided has been conservatively estimated at $196 billion, a figure that dwarfs national spending for formal home health care ($32 billion) and nursing home care ($83 billion).
• Caregiving can create significant economic burdens on households. A 2000 study found that 44 percent of terminally ill patients, who also required substantial amounts of care, reported that the cost of their illness and medical care was a moderate or great economic hardship to their family.
• Caregiving can be a source of mental and physical problems for caregivers as well. In the study mentioned above, caregivers of these patients were more likely to have depression, a risk factor for many serious health conditions. Another study of older spousal caregivers found that within a four-year period, those who were experiencing mental or emotional strain were 63 percent more likely to die than those who were not experiencing strain.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on www.lastacts.org, the Web site for Last Acts, formerly a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Be advised that the content of this article might be dated or inaccurate. The Foundation is reprinting the article here as a matter of general and historical interest.