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Elderly's informal caregivers provide labor worth billions, study says
GLASGOW, UNITED KINGDOM - FEBRUARY 22: Senior Citizens take part in the Kelvinside weekly tea dance, 22 February 2005, Glasgow, Scotland. There are 11.22 million pensioners in the UK - 4.19 million men and 7.03 million women. The so called 'grey' vote will be important in the forthcoming election with all the major political parties canvassing for senior citizens support. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
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Elderly's informal caregivers provide labor worth billions, study says
The help that informal caregivers provide to elderly friends and relatives would come with a hefty price tag if those caregivers charged for their services, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
Friends and family provide an estimated 30 billion hours of assistance to an older relative or friend each year, says the study, which appeared online in the journal Health Services Research. It pegs the annual value of the nation’s informal caregiving at $522 billion.
That’s nearly two-and-a-half times the amount spent each year on formal long-term services for the elderly, such as that provided by adult day care, nursing homes and assisted living centers.
The survey of nearly 1,400 family caregivers also found that three out of five of them are also juggling jobs.
Researchers at the Santa Monica-based think tank say their findings explain the growing interest in workplace policies that would provide such things as paid time off to informal caregivers.
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