Caregiving in America

I am thrilled to share results from my collaboration with SSRS and ARCHANGELS, “Caregiving in America: The Common Thread in Every Community.”

Here are excerpts from our report:

Our nationally representative sample of n=2,012 U.S. adults finds that in the year prior to the survey, 36 percent of Americans provided unpaid care to a family member, friend, or neighbor who needed assistance due to aging, a disability, or a chronic health-related issue. That translates to approximately 93 million Americans providing unpaid care to at least one person in their lives. 

The survey confirmed that unpaid caregivers continue to fill critical gaps in the U.S. healthcare and social systems—gaps that will likely grow wider with congressionally-approved cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. 

The survey finds that unpaid caregiving is a universal experience for American adults: 

• Caregiving is equally prevalent across genders, income levels, education levels, and areas of the country 

• While caregiving is more prevalent among older adults, a full quarter (27%) of 18- to 29-year-olds report providing unpaid care to a friend or loved one. The average age of caregivers in the U.S. is 50. 

• Caregiving is most prevalent among Black adults (45%), followed by Hispanic (40%) and White adults (33%). 

• A majority of caregivers (58%) are also in the workforce, including 41 percent who are employed full-time. 

• One in five caregivers (19%) are both employed full- or part-time and raising at least one child under 18. 

• The caregiving population is fairly evenly split between Republicans (28%), Democrats (33%) and Independents (27%), making it a rare nonpartisan experience in today’s hyper-politicized world. 

Among the n=728 caregivers in this study, some patterns emerged: 

• Younger (18-49) and older (age 50+) caregivers differ in their experiences, with caregivers under age 50 more likely to experience family disagreements and money concerns, worrying that it is all too much, and feeling stressed out or depressed. 

• Older caregivers in contrast are more likely than their younger counterparts (59% v. 47%) to say they are confident navigating money and benefits for others. 

• Feeling supported is a critical dimension of caregiving, with those who feel supported also being more likely to feel a sense of purpose and be confident navigating money and benefits for others. Those who feel supported are also less likely to report feeling stressed out or depressed, having no time for themselves, family disagreements, money concerns, and worrying it is all too much. 

The survey measured caregiver utilization of several different resources and types of support in the 12 months prior to the survey. These included visits with doctors or mental health professionals (in person or via telehealth), connecting online with others facing similar health concerns, and using AI to learn about health conditions. 

Interestingly, overall utilization rates of each of these resources are similar between caregivers and non-caregivers. However, among caregivers, several groups are more likely than others to have sought out these resources in the months leading up to the survey. 

• Caregivers who scored red on the ARCHANGELS Caregivers Intensity Score were more likely than other caregivers to have seen a mental health professional, sought peer support online, and turned to AI for information about health conditions in the 12 months prior to the survey. 

• Younger caregivers (ages 18 to 49) are also more likely to have seen a mental health professional, sought peer support online, and turned to AI for information about health conditions in the 12 months prior to the survey. 

• Caregivers aged 50 or older, in contrast, are more likely to have seen a doctor or other healthcare provider in person 

Seeing those with red intensity scores seek out support at higher rates than others is heartening but ideally support would reach caregivers before they are experiencing high intensity. Effective interventions should be aimed at maintaining moderate or low intensity levels and reducing the number of caregivers scoring in the red. With over 60 percent of caregivers ‘in the yellow’, employers should focus on targeting resources not only to those ‘in the red’ but also to those with moderate caregiver intensity to prevent rising risk. 

Support of any kind—whether from physicians, mental health professionals, peers, new technologies, or other sources—can make a critical difference to someone managing caregiving responsibilities. Understanding which sources of support are accessible or appealing to different parts of the caregiving population enables more targeted interventions. Knowing that 86 percent of older caregivers have seen a doctor or other healthcare provider in their office or in a health clinic in the past year speaks to the value of situating targeted support services in that setting. 

Likewise, knowing that half of all caregivers “in the red” looked for online peer support in the past year indicates the importance of that medium for triaging caregivers at the high end of the intensity index. 

Survey results bear out the effectiveness of peer support: among caregivers who looked for peer support online, those who found it were much more likely than those who looked and did not find support (79% v. 50%) to indicate feeling support in the Caregiver Intensity Index. 

Together, these survey findings reinforce the scope and scale of caregiving in the U.S., along with its complexity and challenges. They also point to a continued need and desire for meaningful support services for what is likely to be a growing population. 

Read the full report, check out the topline, and let me know what you think of our findings.