According to the National Family Caregivers Association, more than a quarter of the adult population has provided care for a chronically ill, disabled, or aged family member.

So who is the caregiver caring for?

According to Chronic Care in America (Institute for Health & Aging, University of California San Francisco for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), more than one half of the United States has a chronic condition. Out of those, 412 million were limited in daily activities, and 12 million are unable to live independently.

In many cases, today’s care recipient is the elderly parent of a baby-boomer child. As the population grows older our caregiver population grows smaller. According to Chronic Care in America, in 1990 there were 11 potential caregivers for each care recipient. By the time we reach 2050, that ratio will be 4 to 1.

Some statistics about care recipients are below:

Care Recipient Age & Gender

• 65 percent of care recipients are female; 35 percent are male
• 20 percent are between 18 and 49 years of age
• 80 percent are more than 50 years of age
• The average age is 77 years old¹

¹National Association for Family Caregivers, compilation.
²National Alliance for Caregiving with AARP and MetLife, 2004

Care Recipient’s Needs

• 95 percent are on prescription medicine
• 50 percent of ailing seniors without a family caregiver move to a nursing home; compared to only 7 percent tended by a family member³

³ 2004, Mary Mittelman, DPH, New York University.

Counseling Opportunity: Study spent two years following 158 caregivers in U.S., U.K., and Australia

Care Recipient Conditions (As Reported by Caregivers)

Base: 510 caregivers; TNS NFO 2004, commissioned by McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals. Q14: Please Indicate Which of the Following the Person you are Taking Care of Suffers From. Base: total returns.