By National Family Caregivers Association

In this day and age, caregiving is a social issue. It is of concern to policy makers and politicians at the federal, state and local levels, employers, insurers, and health care providers.

Then and Now

Of course families have always taken care of their ill or disabled loved ones. Neighbors helped neighbors if they didn't have family around, and even communities helped care for the ill among them, but the nature of caregiving has changed radically. In the past:

• Families didn't provide care for as many years as we do
• Families didn't care for loved ones who are as ill, aged, or disabled as we do
• Families didn't live in a highly mobile society as we do
• Families didn't care for loved ones when so many women were employed and waited until their thirties or even early forties to have children
• Families didn't provide care at a time when healthcare costs and the question of who should pay for them were such an issue of concern.
• Families didn't provide care at a time when medical science had unlocked secrets about how to save and extend lives in ways that were previously unimaginable
• Families didn't care for loved ones at a time when the average age of the population was on the rise and baby boomers would soon be entering their senior years.

It is for all these reasons that caregiving is so very different today than it was before.

Advocating for Change

The first recorded use of the term “caregiving” was in 1975, according to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. But the term family caregiver still hasn't made it into the tenth edition of that dictionary, and it was just published in 2001. It isn't just family caregivers who need a wake-up call about their role in America's care system.

These are some of the reasons our health care system tends not to be responsive to the needs of caregiving families.

These are some of the reasons that family caregiver advocacy organizations, like NFCA, Family Caregiver Alliance, and the National Alliance for Caregiving, are striving to bring about changes in public policy.

Originally published by the National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA). Reprinted with permission.

National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) educates, supports, and speaks up for the more than 65 million Americans who care for loved ones with a chronic illness, disability or frailty. NFCA reaches across the boundaries of diagnoses, relationships and life stages to address the common needs and concerns of all family caregivers. For more information visit www.thefamilycaregiver.org.