Family Caregiving
The need for family caregivers in the U.S. is rapidly increasing, yet demographic shifts are causing the pool of potential family caregivers to decrease. Currently, nearly 18 million people in this country provide some form of care for loved ones age 65 or older.
Capitol Hill Briefing and Proceedings Paper
"Congressional Stories of Family Caregiving: Challenges, Rewards, and a Call to Action" is a proceedings paper from a GSA-hosted briefing on Capitol Hill. GSA invited these legislators to share their personal stories of family caregiving to illustrate that the caregiving experience and the challenges that accompany it are shared by Americans of all levels of income, employment, and education. The briefing was supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation and partners were AARP, the Alzheimer’s Association, and the National Alliance for Caregiving. This paper includes recommendations from the "Families Caring for an Aging America" report below as well as caregiving-relevant legislation.
- "Congressional Stories of Family Caregiving: Challenges, Rewards, and a Call to Action" procedings paper
- Briefing agenda
"Families Caring for an Aging America" Report
With support from 15 sponsors, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened an expert committee to examine what is known about the nation’s family caregivers of older adults and to recommend policies to address their needs and help to minimize the barriers they encounter in acting on behalf of an older adult.
The resulting report, "Families Caring for an Aging America," provides an overview of the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults as well as its personal impact on caregivers’ health, economic security, and overall well-being. It also examines the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs and interventions designed to support family caregivers. The report concludes with recommendations for developing a national strategy to effectively engage and support them.
- "Families Caring for an Aging America" report
- Report in brief
- Report recommendations
- The National Academies press release
- The National Academies September 2016 webinar
Other Resources
- GSA press release
- Slides from caregiving report symposium at GSA's 2016 Annual Scientific Meeting
- John A. Hartford Foundation Health AGEnda Blog
- Link to John A. Hartford Foundation Press Release
- "Navigating the Demands of Work and Eldercare" Department of Labor Report
- "Supporting Family Caregivers of Older Americans" article in the New England Journal of Medicine by report committee members
- "States fill family caregiver void left by Congress" op-ed appearing in The Hill
Report Committee Members
(* denotes GSA member)
| Richard Schulz* (Chair), Director, University Center for Social and Urban Research, University of Pittsburgh Maria P. Aranda*, Associate Professor, University of Southern California School of Social Work Susan Beane, Vice President and Medical Director, Healthfirst Inc. Sara Czaja*, Leonard M. Miller Professor and Scientific Director, Center on Aging, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Brian Duke, System Director, Senior Services, Main Line Health Judy Feder, Professor, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University Lynn Friss Feinberg*, Senior Strategic Policy Advisor, AARP Public Policy Institute Laura N. Gitlin*, Director and Professor, Center for Innovative Care in Aging, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Lisa Gwyther*, Director, Duke Family Support Program; Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Roger Herdman, Retired |
|
Ladson Hinton, Geriatric Psychiatrist and Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis Peter Kemper*, Professor Emeritus, Health Policy and Administration; Demography, Pennsylvania State University Linda Nichols*, Co-Director, Caregiver Center, Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Professor, Preventive and Internal Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center Carol Rodat, New York Policy Director, PHI, Inc. Charles Sabatino*, Director, Commission on Law and Aging, American Bar Association Karen Schumacher*, Professor, College of Nursing, University of Nebraska Medical Center Alan Stevens*, Director, Center for Applied Health Research Program on Aging and Care, Baylor Scott & White Health Donna Wagner*, Dean, College of Health and Social Services, New Mexico State University Jennifer Wolff*, Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University |
GSA’s work to amplify and move the report recommendations toward implementation are funded in part through a grant from the John A. Hartford Foundation.
