Claim: Two-fifths of U.S. adults care for sick, elderly relatives.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Long-term care
text: factors often contribute to an increased need for paid care. In many countries, the largest percentages of older persons needing LTC services still rely on informal home care, or services provided by unpaid caregivers (usually nonprofessional family members, friends or other volunteers). Estimates from the OECD of these figures often are in the 80 to 90 percent range; for example, in Austria, 80 percent of all older citizens. The similar figure for dependent elders in Spain is 82.2 percent. The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates that about 9 million American men and women over the age of

title: Family caregivers
text: of such responsibilities is not new, the frequency may have increased over time due to shorter hospital stays, adults living longer with significant ailments, and technological and health care improvements allowing more nursing or medical care to be provided at home. This trend has implications for families, patients, family caregivers’ workplaces, health care organizations, and insurers, including Medicare and Medicaid. A survey by AARP in 2010 states that "29% of the U.S. adult population, or 65.7 million people, are caregivers, including 31% of all households. These caregivers provide an average of 20 hours of care per week." 1.4 million children

title: Elderly care
text: in the United States, 26% of all Medicare spending, 18% of all non-Medicare spending, and 25 percent of all Medicaid spending for the poor. In the United States, most of the large multi-facility providers are publicly owned and managed as for-profit businesses. There are exceptions; the largest operator in the US is the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, a not-for-profit organization that manages 6,531 beds in 22 states, according to a 1995 study by the American Health Care Association. Given the choice, most older adults would prefer to continue to live in their homes (aging in place). Many elderly people

title: Elderly care
text: room and board, personal care and habilitation services in a family environment for at least two and no more than six persons. According to Family Caregiver Alliance, the majority of family caregivers are women: "Many studies have looked at the role of women and family caregiving. Although not all have addressed gender issues and caregiving specifically, the results are still generalizable [sic] to According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services the older population—persons 65 years or older—numbered 39.6 million in 2009. They represented 12.9% of the U.S. population, about one in every eight Americans. By 2030,

title: Family caregivers
text: and nursing services combined. By 2009, about 61.6 million caregivers were providing "unpaid" care at a value that had increased to an estimated $450 billion. It is projected that nearly one in five United States citizens will be 65 years of age or older by the year 2030. By 2050 this older population is expected to double in size. A 2011 survey of family caregivers in the United States found that almost half (46%) take on tasks that are traditionally considered “nursing” or “medical,” such as injections, wound care, and operating medical equipment and monitors. While the family caregivers’ assumption

title: Caregiving by country
text: million that occupied 9.1 percent of the total and has increased 0.25 percentage points. As a steadily increasing older population with a growing demand for long-term care, an issue of lacking of elderly care facilities as well as inadequate training for skilled caregivers has generated a social concern pertaining to elder care. According to the official Chinese media Xinhua, professionally qualified caregivers are in great request with approximately 10 million people needed to provide care for the Chinese aging population. However, the report also stated that only 300,000 people currently working as caregivers with less than 1/3 of them are

title: Caregiver
text: themselves may face serious health and social risks as a result of stress associated with continuous caregiving. Three fifths of family caregivers age 19-64 surveyed recently by the Commonwealth Fund reported fair or poor health, one or more chronic conditions, or a disability, compared with only one-third of non-caregivers. In the United States today there are approximately 61.6 million people (referenced above) who are caring at home for family members including elderly parents, and spouses and children with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses. Without this home-care, most of these cared for loved ones would require permanent placement in institutions or health

title: Caregiving by country
text: provided unpaid care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend at an estimated value of $450 billion. 1.4 million children ages 8 to 18 provide care for an adult relative; 72% are caring for a parent or grandparent, although most are not the sole caregiver. 30% of family caregivers caring for older individuals are themselves aged 65 or over; another 15% are between the ages of 45 to 54. Licensing and certification for caregiving can vary by state. In some states, the only licensing needed is by the company that employs the caregivers (unless it is

title: Caregiving by country
text: programs, or a combination of the three sources. According to the United Nations the Ukrainian Institute of Gerontology completed a study in 1998 which included 8,574 adults of retirement age, and the results demonstrated that older adults rely on older spouses, relatives or others, and departments of community social centers for care. In addition, 10 percent of the participants had an agreement with their caregiver(s) to trade inheritance of their property for the care that they were receiving. The United Nations also describes the very underfunded and understaffed situation of the country, which has effected the quality of services available

title: Caregiver stress
text: to be a caregiver, they will inflict more stress on themselves by accepting the role. The American Academy of Geriatric Psychiatrists reports one out of four American families provide care for a family member over the age of 50. By 2030, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates a population of 71 million Americans over 65. In the U.K., over 450,000 dementia patients are cared for at home. The American Academy of Family Physicians and the National Center on Caregiving both believe all caregivers should be screened for stress and depression and recommend providing caregivers with their own resources to help them

title: Elderly care
text: there will be about 72.1 million older persons, more than twice their number in 2000. People 65-plus years old represented 12.4% of the population in the year 2000, but that is expected to grow to be 19% of the population by 2030. This will mean more demand for elderly care facilities in the coming years. There were more than 36,000 assisted living facilities in the United States in 2009, according to the Assisted Living Federation of America in 2009. More than 1 million senior citizens are served by these assisted living facilities. Last-year-of-life expenses represent 22% of all medical spending

title: Respite care in the United States
text: stomach disorders, 41% more back pain, 51% more sleeplessness and 61% reported more depression. Three fifths of family caregivers aged 19–64 surveyed recently by the Commonwealth Fund reported fair or poor health, one or more chronic conditions, or a disability, compared with only one-third of non caregivers. Caregivers reported chronic conditions at nearly twice the rate of non caregivers (45% to 24%). A 1999 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that participants who were providing care for an elderly individual with a disability and experiencing caregiver strain had mortality risks that were 63% higher than non

title: Long-term care
text: 65 needed long-term care in 2006, with the number expected to jump to 27 million by 2050. It is anticipated that most will be cared for at home; family and friends are the sole caregivers for 70 percent of the elderly. A study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that four out of every ten people who reach age 65 will enter a nursing home at some point in their lives. Roughly 10 percent of the people who enter a nursing home will stay there five years or more. Based on projections of needs in long

title: Respite care in the United States
text: Respite care in the United States In the United States there are approximately 50 million people who are caring at home for family members including elderly parents, and spouses and children with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses. Without this home-care, most of these cared for would require permanent placement in institutions or health care facilities. An estimated 50 million family caregivers nationwide provide at least $306 billion in uncompensated services—an amount comparable to Medicare spending in 2004 and more than twice what is spent nationwide on nursing homes and paid home care combined. Family caregivers may suffer from physical, emotional, and

title: Caregiving by country
text: The number of male caregivers may be increasing and will continue to do so due to a variety of social demographic factors [Kramer, B. J. & E. H. Thompson, (eds.), "Men as Caregivers," (New York:Prometheus Books, 2002]. Retrieved from. Dellman-Jenkins, Blankemeyer and Pinkard found that young adults are increasingly becoming caregivers to their elderly relatives because of economic factors. A new population of caregivers to elderly are children and grandchildren, aged 40 years and younger, serving as the major source of support to an older relative(s). Retrieved from Other information about US caregivers: By 2009, more than 61.6 million people

title: Kinship care
text: kinship care. According to a 2003 U.S. Census Bureau report, 2.4 million grandparents had primary responsibility for their coresident grandchildren younger than 18. Among grandparent caregivers, 39 percent had cared for their grandchildren for 5 or more years. 594,000 grandparents nationally are raising children below the federal poverty level. Relatives care for a quarter of all children in foster care in the United States. There are many reasons that a parent may be unwilling or unable to care for their child, including death, incarceration, illness, substance abuse and financial instability. Many kinship children are placed by child protective services (CPS)

title: Caregiving by country
text: feel more positive about their experiences than they did just before they took on the responsibility, with significant differences in expectation prior to becoming a caregiver and the actual experience. The survey also found that caregivers are often burdened by high out-of-pocket costs in caring for a spouse or parent, but: According to the Caregiver statistics fact sheet (2012) 43.5 million of adult family caregivers care for someone 50+ years of age and 14.9 million care for someone who has Alzheimer's disease or other dementia [Alzheimer's Association, 2011 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures, Alzheimer's and Dementia, Vol. 7, Issue 2].

title: Family caregivers
text: ages 8 to 18 provide care for an adult relative; 72% are caring for a parent or grandparent. Fortunately, most are not the sole caregiver. 30% of family caregivers caring for seniors are themselves aged 65 or over; another 15% are between the ages of 45 to 54. As discussed above, there are benefits to the caregiving experience. New research even reports gains in cognitive function in older women who provide informal (unpaid) care on a continuing basis. This cross-sectional study tested over 900 participants at baseline and again after two years for memory and processing speed, functions which are

title: Aging and society
text: number of health problems become more prevalent as people get older. These include mental health problems as well as physical health problems, especially dementia. Even so, it has been estimated that population ageing only explains 0.2 percentage points of the annual growth rate in medical spending of 4.3 percent since 1970. In addition, certain reforms to the Medicare system in the United States decreased elderly spending on home health care by 12.5 percent per year between 1996 and 2000. This would suggest that the impact of ageing populations on health care costs is not inevitable. In United States prisons, medical

title: Elderly care
text: same country, regional differences exist with respect to the care for older adults. However, it has been observed globally, older people consume the most health expenditures out of any other age group, observation that shows comprehensive eldercare may be very similar. One must also account for an increasingly large proportion older people worldwide, especially in developing nations, as continued pressure is put on limiting fertility and decreasing family size. Traditionally, care for older adults has been the responsibility of family members and was provided within the extended family home. Increasingly in modern societies, care is now being provided by state