Click on image for a PDF of the report.All family caregivers are not alike. A new Insight on the Issues report, Family Caregivers Providing Complex Chronic Care to Their Spouses, shows that the burden of caregiving disproportionately impacts spouses. The report was produced by the AARP Public Policy Institute and the United Hospital Fund and supported by grant funding from the John A. Hartford Foundation.
Adult children and spouses are the primary caregivers of our nation's older adults. They provide critically important assistance that helps frail elders remain at home, from meal preparation to such complex medical/nursing tasks as medication management, wound care, and care coordination.
According to the report, husbands and wives caring for older adults are more likely than other caregivers to perform complex medical/nursing tasks. These spousal caregivers are themselves older, more likely to have their own health issues, have lower income and educational levels, and are more socially isolated than non-spousal caregivers. A cause for concern, spouses were less likely than other caregivers to receive in-home support from health care professionals and less likely to receive help from family or friends or home care aides.
Family Caregivers Providing Complex Chronic Care to Their Spouses is the third public policy report on family caregiving in a series supported by the John A. Hartford Foundation and produced by the AARP Public Policy Institute in collaboration with the United Hospital Fund. Other reports in the series are: