Elder Care Demographics

WHO NEEDS HOME CARE?
1. An estimated 36.8 million people - 12.4% of the population - are 65 and older.
2. The U.S. population age 65 and older is expected to double in size within the next 25 years.
3. By 2030, almost 1 in 5 Americans - some 72 million people - will be 65 or older.
4. The 85+ population is projected to double from 4.7 million in 2003 to 9.6 million in 2030 - and double again to 20.9 million in 2050.
5. In 1960, only 1.6% of older men and 1.5% of women age 65 and older were divorced. By 2003, 7% of older men and 8.6% of older women were divorced and had not remarried.
6. About 80% of seniors have at least one chronic health condition and 50% have at least two.

Source(s):
1.  Obtained directly from U.S. Census Bureau (2006)
2-4.  U.S. Census Bureau Web Site: www.census.gov (2006)
5-6. U.S. Census Bureau: 65+ in the United States 2005 (2005)

WHO PROVIDES HOME CARE?
1. Nearly 25% of all American adults currently provide daily companionship or assistance to a parent or relative.
2. Approximately 60% of family caregivers are women.
3. The typical family caregiver is a 46-year-old woman caring for her widowed mother who does not live with her. She is married and employed.
4. An estimated 88% of married individuals report their spouse as their key caregiver.

Source(s)
1. Harris Interactive Study for Home Instead Senior Care (2003)
2-3. National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP: Caregiving in the U.S. (2004)
4.  U.S. Census Bureau: 65+ in the United States (2005)

WHO NEEDS HELP?
1. Approximately 37% of family caregivers spend more than 40 hours a week providing care, and 30% spend 20 to 39 hours per week doing so. 
2. Nearly seven in 10 (69%) family caregivers spend less time with family and friends since becoming caregivers.
3. Nine in 10 family caregivers (91%) surveyed - all in fair/poor health - suffer from depression, and eight in 10 (81%) of those with depression report that caregiving had made their depression worse.
4. Approximately 62% of family caregivers who work have had to make some adjustments to their work life, from reporting late to work to giving up work entirely.
5. Nearly one in five caregivers (17%) says they provide more than 40 hours of care per week to a loved one.
6. A wife's hospitalization increased her husband's chances of dying within a month by 35%. A husband's hospitalization boosted his wife's mortality risk by 44%.
7. Extreme stress can take as much as 10 years off a family caregiver's life.
8. Family caregivers report having a chronic condition at more than twice the rate of non-caregivers.

Source(s):
1-3. Evercare: Evercare Study of Caregivers in Decline: A Close-up Look at the Health Risks of Caring for a Loved One ( www.evercarehealthplans.com, 2006)
4-5, 8. National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP: Caregiving in the U.S. (2004)
6. New England Journal of Medicine (2006)
7. Peter S. Arno: Economic Value of Informal Caregiving (2006)

Canada

WHO NEE DS HOME CARE?
1. An estimated 4.3 million people - more than 13% of the population - are age 65 and older.
2. Approximately two million Canadians will be age 85 and older by 2051, almost five times the current figure.
3. The number of seniors is expected to double by 2026, with seniors accounting for 21% of the population.
4. By 2031, the number of Canadians age 65 and older could range from 8.9 million-9.4 million.
5. It is projected that by 2030, there will be 40 retirees for every 100 working-age persons - up from 21 in 2003.*

Source(s):
Statistics Canada unless otherwise indicated.
* Summit on Mature Market Workforce, 2006

WHO PROVIDES HOME CARE?
1. More than 1.7 million adults age 45 to 64 provide informal care to almost 2.3 million seniors with long-term disabilities or physical limitations.*
2. Approximately 18% of women and 19% of men age 45 and older say they provide care to one or more seniors with a long-term health problem.
3. Approximately 39% of senior women and 45% of older men receive all of their care from informal sources.
 
Source(s):
Statistics Canada unless otherwise indicated.
* "Balancing career and care," Perspectives on Labour and Income, 2006

WHO NEEDS HELP?
1. One in 10 men aged 45-64 reports that their sleep patterns have been disrupted because of their caregiving activities; while nearly two in 10 women experience these problems.1
2. The majority of female caregivers aged 45-64 are working (63%), most in a full-time capacity (72%).1
3. About 44% of caregivers incur extra financial costs associated with caregiving responsibilities, such as decreased salary due to absences; lost promotion opportunities; and reduced retirement benefits.2 
4. Approximately 20% of women and 13% of men report that reducing hours of work is common as a result of caregiving.1
5. Some 21% of women caregivers report that the need to provide care to a family member would be a likely reason for retirement, compared with 13% of women who were not providing care.3
6. More than one in 10 seniors receiving care reside with their children, with this proportion being highest for seniors age 85 and older.1

Source(s):  
1. Statistics Canada
2. Economic Security for Caregivers:  A Policy Development Process to Better Support Unpaid Caregivers, a report from the Unpaid Caregiving  Forum, convened by the Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) in partnership with The Canadian Caregiver Coalition (CCC-CCAN), 2003
3. "Balancing career and care," Perspectives on Labour and Income, 2006