Family Caregivers of Older Adults, 1999–2015: Trends in Characteristics, Circumstances, and Role-Related Appraisal
Open accessAbstract
Purpose of Study: To assess trends in family caregiving between 1999 and 2015. Design and Methods: We construct nationally representative profiles of community-dwelling older adults receiving help with self-care or indoor mobility and their "primary" family or unpaid caregiver using the 1999 and 2004 National Long Term Care Survey, 2011 and 2015 National Health and Aging Trends Study, and linked caregiver surveys. Trends are examined. Results: Older adults receiving help were incrementally younger, more racially diverse, and better educated in 2015. Primary caregivers overwhelmingly continued to be spouses and adult children. Arrangements were increasingly 4 years or longer in duration (shifting from 44.8% in 1999 to 60.5% by 2015). On average, primary caregivers provided about or in excess of 30 hr per week at all four time points. Spouses provided fewer hours of care, were twice as likely to work, and half as likely to report substantial emotional, physical, and financial difficulty due to caregiving in 2015 than 1999. Adult children provided comparable hours of care to a more impaired population; a similar proportion reported substantial caregiving-related difficulty at each time. Use of respite care nearly doubled from 8.5% in 1999 to 15.7% in 2015. Dementia caregivers were less likely to report substantial physical and financial difficulty and more likely to use respite care in 2015 than 1999. Implications: Family caregivers' circumstances generally improved during the 16-year period. Results diverge from prevailing concerns regarding the state of family caregiving and demonstrate the importance of longitudinally monitoring trends in late-life family caregiving.
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Among non-dementia caregivers, average weekly care hours decreased from 34 to 24 between 1999 and 2015.
“An analysis of national caregiving trends from 1999 to 2015 found that among dementia caregivers the average hours of care per week increased from 45 in 1999 to 48 in 2015; among nondementia caregivers, weekly hours of care decreased from 34 to 24. 457”
From 2023 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures (2023) · cites this paper as [457]
Among dementia caregivers, average weekly care hours increased from 45 in 1999 to 48 in 2015.
“An analysis of national caregiving trends from 1999 to 2015 found that among dementia caregivers the average hours of care per week increased from 45 in 1999 to 48 in 2015; among nondementia caregivers, weekly hours of care decreased from 34 to 24. 457”
From 2023 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures (2023) · cites this paper as [457]
Dementia caregivers in 2015 were significantly less likely to report financial difficulties related to care provision than dementia caregivers in 1999 (9% vs 22%).
“Compared with dementia caregivers in 1999, dementia caregivers in 2015 were significantly less likely to report physical difficulties (from 30% in 1999 to 17% in 2015) and financial difficulties (from 22% in 1999 to 9% in 2015) related to care provision.In addition, use of respite care by dementia caregivers increased substantially (from 13% in 1999 to 27% in 2015).457”
From 2023 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures (2023) · cites this paper as [457]
Dementia caregivers in 2015 were significantly less likely to report physical difficulties related to care provision than dementia caregivers in 1999 (17% vs 30%).
“Compared with dementia caregivers in 1999, dementia caregivers in 2015 were significantly less likely to report physical difficulties (from 30% in 1999 to 17% in 2015) and financial difficulties (from 22% in 1999 to 9% in 2015) related to care provision.In addition, use of respite care by dementia caregivers increased substantially (from 13% in 1999 to 27% in 2015).457”
From 2023 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures (2023) · cites this paper as [457]
Use of respite care by dementia caregivers increased substantially from 13% in 1999 to 27% in 2015.
“In addition, use of respite care by dementia caregivers increased substantially (from 13% in 1999 to 27% in 2015).457”
From 2023 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures (2023) · cites this paper as [457]
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References 31 · Cited by 267
Research works printed but not linked: 5
- [4]4. In U.S. Census (Ed.), Current population reports (pp. 1-16). Washington, DC: United States Department of Commerce.
- [8]8. Favreault, M., & Dey, J. (2015). Long-term services and supports for older Americans (pp. 1-17). Washington, DC: Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.
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- [23]23. Montaquila, J., Freedman, V. A., Edwards, B., & Kasper, J. D. (2012). National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) round 1 sample design and selection. In J. D. Kasper & V. A. Freedman (Eds.), NHATS Technical Paper #1 (pp. 1-8). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health.
- Authors
- Wolff, J. L., Mulcahy, J., Huang, J., Roth, D. L., Covinsky, K., & Kasper, J. D.
- Affiliations
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Corresponding author
- Wolff, Jennifer L
- Venue
- The Gerontologist
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2017-06-16
- Volume
- 58
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1021-1032
- ISSN
- 0016-9013 (ISSN-L)
- 1758-5341
- PMC
- PMC6215459
- OpenAlex
- W2627089358
- Cited by
- 267
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 68 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 1 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 68.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model (vor)
- Locations
- The Gerontologist (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (U01AG032947, R01AG047859)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Nursing care and research
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Aging, Elder Care, and Social Issues
- Keywords
- family caregiving, older adults, primary caregivers, caregiver burden, respite care, dementia caregiving, caregiver hours, caregiver employment, spousal caregiving, caregiving duration, community-dwelling older adults, self-care assistance
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Dementia, Family, Family Relations, Female, Humans, Long-Term Care, Male, Middle Aged, Caregivers, Spouses, Adult Children, Independent Living
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