Susannah Fox of Pew Internet, has released her latest report, “Family Caregivers are Wired for Health.”
- Fully 39% of U.S. adults are caring for a loved one, up from 30% in 2010. We are starting to see the effects of an aging population AND the financial pressures that many people are facing, especially in the “sandwich generation.” Instead of outsourcing nursing care, people are stepping up to the task, like it or not, trained or not.
- Becoming a caregiver seems to change people as health information consumers. They turn up the volume on every information source. It’s akin to becoming a parent for the first time, but it’s not celebrated in the wider culture.
Here’s the full report:
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Family-Caregivers.aspx
And a blog post where she invites discussion of the findings:
http://e-patients.net/archives/2013/06/caregivers-a-celebration.html