Caregiving is largely a women's issue. Some 72 percent of caregivers are female, mostly wives and adult daughters. The average age of a caregiver is 57. Caregiving can last from less than a year to over forty years. Some 80 percent of caregivers provide unpaid assistance seven days a week.
People are likely to have more older people in their families today than in the past.
By 2030, when the baby boomers reach age 65, one in five Americans will be at least 65, for a total of about 70 million older people, more than twice the number in 1996. In the twenty-first century the demands placed on family and other informal caregivers are likely to escalate, affecting nearly every American family.