Rosalyn Carter said it best: “There are only four kinds of people in the world – those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers”. Caregivers are needed for family members of all ages. With appropriate information and support, family caregivers can help their loved ones across the lifespan.

More than 50 Million people, provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friends during any given year.

So, who are family caregivers … It’s a complicated question and answers may vary depending upon whom you ask. Physicians may give an answer different from social workers and researchers may undoubtedly quote statistics. However, if you really want to know who America’s family caregivers are, you need to ask them directly.

The typical family caregiver is a 46-year-old-woman caring for her widowed mother who does not live with her. She is married and employed. Approximately 60percent of family caregivers are women.

1.4 million Children ages 8-18 provide care for an adult relative; 72% are caring for a parent or grandparent. Fortunately, most are not the sole caregiver.

America’s family caregivers are family, friends, partners, and neighbors. To better understand the experience and the meaning of being a family caregiver go to The National Family Caregiver Story Project. The NFCA Story Project is a collection of first-person accounts by family caregivers. It is the gateway to becoming part of a growing group of family caregivers who have reached out to share their thoughts, feelings and find solace in the words of others. As you read the stories of America’s family caregivers you may find yourself nodding in recognition and find the answers to whom the caregivers really are.

Research and Statistics: 

NFCA Research and Reports have focused largely, but not exclusively, on those family caregivers who provide significant levels of care. One aspect of our research has sought to better understand how to communicate effectively with family caregivers, since so many are uncomfortable with calling themselves anything other than a spouse, a parent, or a loving adult child. 

There is an extensive body of family caregiver research available on many different aspects of the caregiving experience. You can find out more about the financial, physical and emotional impact of family caregiving as well as information on family caregivers at work and in the healthcare system in the Caregiver Statistics section of this site.

What is Family Caregiving?

Simply put, family caregiving is the act of assisting someone you care about who is chronically ill or disabled and who is no longer able to care for themselves. Family caregiving is the bedrock upon which this country’s healthcare system depends. The services provided by family caregivers represent 80% of all home care services and are conservatively valued at $375 billion a year.

Caregiving in the 21st Century – Then and Now is fundamentally different than it was in the biblical times when the commandment to Honor thy Mother and Father was created. People died at a much younger age and often times without the benefits of medication and the advanced medical technologies as we see today.

One thing that hasn’t changed however, are the Common Bonds that tie all family caregivers together.

Family caregivers are the practitioners of family caregiving. It is hard to separate one from the other. Caregiver Statistics will provide insights into both.

What is Family Caregiving as described in a poem by Rose Marie Trosper, an NFCA volunteer with the Caregiver Community Action Network (CCAN) and a family caregiver from Arkansas. This is what family caregiving means to Rose…

Caregiver’s Eyes
By Rose Marie Trosper

A caregiver’s eyes tell me everything I need to know.

Their sadness, their fatigue,
the overwhelming feelings that consume them.

How do I tell them how much I care,
how much I would do… if I could?

These precious souls with hearts of gold,
forgotten by those who should be so close,
and, yet, they are so distant.

Do they know how often I feel the burning questions,
those that haunt their every waking moment?

The ones that ask… why me,
how much longer… how much more?

I would change their world if only I could,
if only miracles were mine to give,
if only I held the power, 
if only I had wings.

Don’t they know they already have their own wings,
and that they teach me so much?

More than I could ever offer to them in return.

Do they know I watch over them
as best I can with the watchful eyes 
of a mother, a friend?

Or, that they are in my heart,
each one so cherished, so unique.

A caregiver’s eyes tell me everything I need to know.

But every now and again,
 I see a faint smile, a knowing look
that says…… thank you, my friend.

It is in those moments that I know
I am where I should be.

And, for as long as they need me….
this is where I can be found.

From the National Caregivers Association website.  https://www.thefamilycaregiver.org

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