Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population.

Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.

Contents

• The National Academies of SCIENCES • ENGINEERING • MEDICINE
• COMMITTEE ON FAMILY CAREGIVING FOR OLDER ADULTS
• Reviewers
• Acknowledgments
• Summary
  • OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
  • WHO IS A FAMILY CAREGIVER?
  • WHAT CAREGIVERS DO
  • THE PERSONAL IMPACT OF CAREGIVING
  • EFFECTIVE CAREGIVER INTERVENTIONS
  • A VISION FOR THE FUTURE
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
• 1. Introduction
  • CONTEXT FOR THIS REPORT
  • A VISION FOR THE FUTURE
  • METHODS OF THE STUDY
  • ORIENTATION TO THE ORGANIZATION OF THIS REPORT
  • REFERENCES
• 2. Older Adults Who Need Caregiving and the Family Caregivers Who Help Them
  • PREVALENCE OF THE NEED FOR A CAREGIVER
  • WHO ARE THE FAMILY CAREGIVERS OF OLDER ADULTS?
  • SOCIAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS AFFECTING CAREGIVING
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 3. Family Caregiving Roles and Impacts
  • CAREGIVING TRAJECTORIES
  • ROLES OF FAMILY CAREGIVERS
  • THE IMPACT OF CAREGIVING ON THE CAREGIVER
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 4. Economic Impact of Family Caregiving
  • BROAD IMPACTS
  • OUT-OF-POCKET SPENDING
  • EMPLOYMENT-RELATED COSTS TO CAREGIVERS
  • COSTS TO EMPLOYERS
  • SOCIETAL BENEFITS
  • POLICIES AND PRACTICES THAT SUPPORT WORKING CAREGIVERS
  • PRIVATE EMPLOYER INITIATIVES
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 5. Programs and Supports for Family Caregivers of Older Adults
  • Approach Used in the Review of the Literature
  • Organizational Framework for the Interventions
  • ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES
  • INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL INTERVENTIONS
  • ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL
  • SOCIETAL/POLICY LEVEL
  • THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN CAREGIVER INTERVENTIONS
  • THE PIPELINE FOR CAREGIVER INTERVENTIONS
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 6. Family Caregivers' Interactions with Health Care and Long-Term Services and Supports
  • THE CURRENT PARADIGM AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
  • COMMITTING TO A NEW PARADIGM: PERSON- AND FAMILY-CENTERED CARE
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 7. Recommendations to Support Family Caregivers of Older Adults
  • AN URGENT NEED FOR ACTION
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
  • ADDITIONAL ACTIONS
  • REFERENCES
• APPENDIXES
  • Appendix A. Acronyms and Glossary
  • Appendix B. Committee and Staff Biographies
  • Appendix C. Public Workshop Agendas
  • Appendix D. Number of Years and Percentage of Adult Life Spent Caring for an Older Adult
  • Appendix E. Methodology: NHATS and NSOC Surveys
  • Appendix F. Caregiving: The Odyssey of Becoming More Human
  • Appendix G. Caregiving Stories
  • Appendix H. HIPAA and Caregivers' Access to Information

Suggested citation:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Families caring for an aging America. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23606.