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NEW! - Results from ElderCarelink Caregiver Survey
04/20/2007
ElderCarelink Caregiver Survey
Results are in from a recent caregiver survey conducted by ElderCarelink, an internet-based service connecting consumers to qualified eldercare providers in their area. In October, ElderCarelink announced that it would conduct a series of caregiver surveys designed to help identify and address the growing needs of family and professional caregivers. The first of these surveys was completed during November, and the results not only confirm earlier findings from other surveys, but also identified a variety of new findings – particularly related to the impact caregiving is having within different demographic segments.
The initial survey was focused on the impact that caregiving has on the caregiver’s family life, social life, health, and emotional well-being. Caregiver’s responded to a 29 question survey that was designed to provide insight into the:
a) type of caregiving situation they are managing
b) demographic profile of the caregivers
c) impact of caregiving on various aspects of their life
The results of this survey will form the first phase of a comprehensive database on caregiving needs, issues and preferences. Through this database, ElderCarelink hopes to provide an important and up-to-date resource for those involved in caregiving.
About the Survey
The ElderCarelink study was based on a random sample of individuals who used the company’s online eldercare referral service to find senior care services and products in the previous six months. Approximately 10,000 caregivers were emailed and given the opportunity to complete a brief online survey about their experience. Almost 700 caregivers responded, and the results were very revealing.
While this study was limited to individuals who use the internet -- with close to 700 respondents representing input from all 50 states -- the study provides good insight into the issues confronting caregivers in the Baby Boomer age group.
The overall findings seem to confirm trends previously reported in other surveys of caregivers, however, some new and interesting statistics emerged. Following is a sampling of some of the findings from this survey.
General Findings
• Female caregivers outnumbered males by 6-to-1
• The typical caregiver is a white, married, 54-year-old female with some college education and an average household income of $50,000. Her children have moved out, and she has been providing care for about 3 years
• Over 50% of the respondents in the ElderCarelink study were caring for someone who had Alzheimer’s or Dementia
• 55% of the respondents were the primary caregiver, while another 35% shared duties
• 68% of the respondents had opted for in-home care solutions while the remaining 32% had chosen a senior housing option
• 41% lived with the care recipient and over 75% lived within 30 minutes
• 1/3 of respondents were providing more than 40 hours of care per week and 56% were providing some care 7 days per week
• 57% very rarely or never took time off from caregiving duties
• 77% described their overall health as good or better, however, 60% indicated their health had deteriorated since they began providing care
• The incidence of stress and stress-related illnesses was prevalent among all groups with 75% of caregivers reporting heightened stress levels, 59% emotional distress, 51% anxiety and 37% depression
• 69% indicated they felt overwhelmed
• 61% felt guilty for taking time off
• 62% wanted more support from other family members
• There was also a high incidence of personal life impact as respondents indicated that caregiving had caused poor eating, lack of exercise, inability to maintain outside interests, activities and social relationships.
• Family life was also affected as 39% reported conflicts with other family members about the care recipient, 36% reported financial hardships and 45% reported troubles maintaining their own home and family
Gender: Male vs. Female Caregivers
• Only 41% of men are primary caregivers while over 58% of women are
• 49% of the men live with the caregiving recipient while only 39% of women do
• Type of care provided was very similar between men and women but men did more of maintenance & financial support while women did more household chores and medical scheduling
• 52% of men felt worse health-wise while almost 64% of women did
• Women showed a much higher prevalence than men for all sorts of medical conditions. For example; depression (40% vs. 24%), emotional distress (61% vs. 42%), stress (78% vs. 59%)
• 64% of women wanted more help from family members while only 43% of men did
• Women felt more guilty taking time off (63% vs. 49%)
• 72% of women felt overwhelmed vs. 53% of men
• 51% of women said caregiving had adverse effect on health while only 34% of men did
• 47% of women felt underappreciated while only 31% of men did
Income: Under $50K Annual Income vs. Over $50K
• 64% of the under $50k are primary caregivers while only 48% of over $50k are
• 51% of the under $50K live with the caregiving recipient while only 31% of the over $50k do
• 67% of the under $50K group provide 20 or more hours of care per week while only 28% of the over $50k group do
• Over $50K are 50% more likely to use paid providers for support than the under $50k group
• 66% of under $50K group feel worse health-wise while only 59% of the over $50k group feel worse
• Not surprisingly, only 25% of the under $50K group had gone to 4 year college or graduate school while 59% of the over $50K group had
• Under $50K want more support from other family members (65%) vs. 59% for over $50K
• 55% of under $50K feel caregiving impacts their health adversely while only 43% of over $50K feel that way
Education Levels: College Educated (or Grad School) vs. Non-College
• 60% of the Non-College are primary caregivers while only 50% of College Educated are
• 45% of the Non-College lived with the senior while only 33% of the College Educated do
• 52% of the Non-College group provided 20 or more hours of care per week while only 41% of the College Educated group do
• College Educated are much more likely to use paid providers for support than the Non-College group (41% vs. 31%)
• 64% of Non-College group feel worse health-wise while only 59% of the College Educated group feel worse
• College Educated show a lower incidence of depression (34% vs. 40%), emotional distress (55% vs. 61%) and insomnia (44% vs. 52%)
• College Educated also show significantly less impact on personal life areas than the Non-College group:
- Impact on outside interests (52% vs. 61%)
- Missed medical appointments (24% vs. 31%)
- Poor eating (33% vs. 43%)
- Marital problems (12% vs. 24%)
- Financial hardship (30% vs. 40%)
- Maintaining own household (40% vs. 48%)
• College Educated experience a significantly lower impact emotionally:
- 57% of College Educated want more support vs. 65% of Non-College
- 44% of the College Educated group experienced an adverse impact on health while 52% of Non-College do
- 41% of College Educated caregivers feel it hurt relationships while 50% of Non-College feel this way
- 38% of College Educated feel underappreciated while 49% of Non-College do
Living Situation: – Living With vs. Living Apart
• 78% of the Living With are primary caregivers vs. only 40% of Living Apart
• 60% of the Living Aparts use paid caregivers vs. only 26% of Living Withs
• 93% of the Living With provide care 7 days per week while only 31% of the Living Aparts do
• Living Aparts are more than 4 times more likely to place the recipient in senior housing than the Living Withs (41% vs. 9%)
• 80% of the Living With group provide 20 or more hours of care per week while only 23% of the Living Apart group do
• Living Aparts are much more likely to use paid providers for support than the Living With group (41% vs. 31%)
• 71% of Living With group feel worse health-wise while only 55% of the over Living Apart group feel worse
• Living Apart showed a much lower incidence of all major stress related conditions: depression (30% vs. 45%), emotional distress (54% vs. 61%), stress (66% vs. 81%), chronic fatigue (23% vs. 39%), and insomnia (44% vs. 54%)
• Living Apart also showed significantly less negative impact on personal life than the Living With group:
- Impact on outside interests (47% vs. 68%)
- Missed medical appointments (23% vs. 34%)
- Poor eating (34% vs. 43%)
- Maintaining friendships (32% vs. 63%)
- Lack of exercise (48% vs. 64%)
- Marital problems (14%vs. 26%)
- Financial Hardship (29vs. 43%)
Additional Notes
• More hours caregiving means more stress – Living With, and More than 20 hours showed significant negative impact across the board
For citation purposes use the following: ElderCarelink Caregiver Survey – December 2006
About ElderCarelink
ElderCarelink, a leading provider of qualified lead generation services within the eldercare industry, assists families in finding a multitude of senior services, including assisted living, nursing homes, adult day care, private duty nursing, care management and homecare in all 50 states. More about finding eldercare assistance or joining our network of providers can be found at www.eldercarelink.com.
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