Unpaid Caregivers: Integral to HealthcareEllen V. Makar, MSN, RN-BC, CCM, CPHIMS, CENPFACA- Subgroup On Health IT Workforce DevelopmentFebruary 14, 2014In the US and UK0Unpaid. Unappreciated. Untrained. Undercounted. Exhausted. But vital.Americas stealth weapon against chronic illness is a 46-year-old woman with a family, a high-school degree, a full-time job and a household income of $35,000. She has no particular training in health care. And, to tell you the truth, sometimes she doesnt feel that great herself

-- AMA Medical News, 20011

Disability Surveys:4.8 Million (n=4 surveys)Caregiver Self-identification Surveys24.4 Million (n=4 surveys)Moving beyond thinking about family caregivers as a shadow workforce will hinge on better consensus and shared definition about some basic issues, including the size of the workforce.

Care givers provide an unknown amount of essential care for our disabled and elderly populations ( and other populations as well)-2Types of Assistance by CompanionDuring Physician Visit3Source: Wolff and Roter, Archives of Internal Medicine, 2008Companions involved in communication processes

Caregivers provide an unknown amount of essential care for our disabled and elderly populations (and other populations as well)-

3Connecting Caregivers4

Carers: UK

Caregivers : US6

Research and Policy Opportunities:

Who provides care? Consistent terminology, definitions, estimates of size of workforceWho needs care? Distinguish core scope of practice triggers and opportunities for learning: age groups, conditions, settings of care?What are the impacts, costs and benefits? Enable understanding of status quo; payment and delivery incentives to support population-based health that include and value family caregivers.Opportunities to Move Beyond a Shadow Workforce to Valued Partners in Patient CareMagnitude65.7 million caregivers make up 29% of the U.S. adult population providing care to someone who is ill, disabled or aged. [The National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP (2009), Caregiving in the U.S. National Alliance for Caregiving. Washington, DC.] - Updated: November 201252 million caregivers provide care to adults (aged 18+) with a disability or illness. [Coughlin, J., (2010). Estimating the Impact of Caregiving and Employment on Well-Being: Outcomes & Insights in Health Management, Vol. 2; Issue 1] - Updated: November 201243.5 million of adult family caregivers care for someone 50+ years of age and 14.9 million care for someone who has Alzheimer's disease or other dementia. [Alzheimer's Association, 2011 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures, Alzheimer's and Dementia , Vol.7, Issue 2.] - Updated: November 2012LGBT respondents are slightly more likely to have provided care to an adult friend or relative in the past six months: 21% vs. 17%. [MetLife: Still Out, Still Aging 2010. Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Baby Boomers] - Updated: November 2012Economic Value Caregiver services were valued at $450 billion per year in 2009- up from $375 billion in year 2007. [Valuing the Invaluable: 2011 Update, The Economic Value of Family Caregiving. AARP Public Policy Institute.] - Updated: November 2012The value of unpaid family caregivers will likely continue to be the largest source of long-term care services in the U.S., and the aging population 65+ will more than double between the years 2000 and 2030, increasing to 71.5 million from 35.1 million in 2000. [Coughlin, J., (2010). Estimating the Impact of Caregiving and Employment on Well-Being: Outcomes & Insights in Health Management, Vol. 2; Issue 1] - Updated: November 2012

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