Caregiver News & Research

Falls Have Become the Leading Cause of Injury Deaths for Seniors

"Fall death rates have increased faster than fall injury rates. In large part, this is because people are living longer, and many of our seniors now are older and frailer. They need our help to prevent potentially fatal fall injuries," said Dr. Judy Stevens, an epidemiologist in CDC’s Injury Center and author of the report.

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Graying Power: Benefits for Caregivers

Companies help those caring for the greatest generation A MetLife study released in July 2006, found that the total estimated cost to employers whose employees have intense caregiving responsibilities was between $17 billion and $33 billion. Of that amount, which includes lost work time, reduced hours and turnover, $3.8 billion was attributed to the "elder care crisis" category.

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Family caregivers find role rewarding

Despite putting in more than 40 hours of care in the last year of life, two-thirds of U.S. family caregivers found their role rewarding, a study found.  Jennifer L. Wolff and colleagues at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore assessed the dynamics of providing care among 1,149 caregivers who participated in a national survey.

Among the caregivers of adults in the last year of life, 41.5 percent were spouses, 39 percent were children and 19.5 percent were other family members or friends; 75.1 percent of them were female, and they were an average 64 years old. They provided an average of 43 hours of care per week, and 84.4 percent of them provided daily assistance, says the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Less than 5 percent of caregivers used respite care, while 62 percent reported using assistive devices, 37 percent used personal or nursing care services, and 28 percent used home modifications.   About 70 percent agreed that their role "makes me feel good about myself" and "enables me to appreciate life more," and 76 percent said they felt useful and needed.

Daily Call Helps Keep Seniors Healthy

New research from the University of Southern California shows that baby boomers are more committed to caring for their aging parents than their own parents were. The study, published in the November issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family, found that although elderly parents make fewer demands on adult children despite being needier, boomers’ sense of duty toward them has grown stronger. (Most of the time it is adult daughters who care for their elderly mothers.)

. . . computerized calls are an innovative soft monitor for baby boomers concerned about their parents. Often they live in other cities and find themselves overstretched, juggling jobs and caring for teens, but with aging parents who want to be independent.

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Industry News & Research

The "Industry News & Research" section is currently under development. 

In the coming weeks, you’ll find research, news and trends within various industries related to the age wave.