Investigating Trends in Elder-Elder Caregiving in the United States: 1997 – 2014

Abstract

Caregiving is a difficult field to study due to the subjective nature of the data. Insufficient research exists exploring the situation of elder-elder caregiving (where the caregiver is 64 years old or older and caring for a care recipient, who is also 64 years old or older.) This article investigates this relationship to better understand changes in caregiving specific to this population. METHODS: Statistical tests were performed on publicly available data sets from the National Alliance for Caregiving. Data sets were collected via telephone and internet surveys in 1997, 2004, 2009, and 2014, from a random sample of caregivers. RESULTS: 989 responses were analyzed. ANOVA and post-hoc tests found a significant statistical difference (p < 0.0001) between the mean age of elder-elder caregivers for all years when compared to 2014. The largest increase in mean age of elder-elder caregivers was from 70 years old in 2004 to 74 years old in 2014. No correlation was found between elder-elder caregiver age and level of burden experienced due to caregiving. The average length of time of elder-elder caregiving was approximately five years. CONCLUSION: The lack of prior investigation on this population may be concealing the needs of elder-elder caregivers. Further research could help society prioritize education and inform action plans to assist elder-elder caregivers, so that a.) they have a higher quality of life near the end of life, and b.) their caregiving workload does not shift to institutional health care settings.