Abstract
Design: Longitudinal analysis of data from the British household panel survey, 1991 to 1998, an annual prospective survey of a nationally representative sample of more than 5000 private households in England, Scotland, and Wales.
Subjects: Over 9000 adults over 16 years interviewed personally in successive waves of the survey, including around 1300 informal carers each year.
Results: One third of co-resident carers and 40% of extra-resident carers start caregiving each year and similar proportions cease to provide care. Five year period rates are at least 75% higher than the one year prevalence estimates. Almost everyone is involved in caregiving at one time or another and over half are likely to provide 20 hours or more care per week at some point in their lives. Recent trends indicate that more adults are becoming heavily involved in providing longer episodes of care. Although the onset of caregiving peaks in late middle and early older age, above average incidences span three decades or more of adult life. Age variations in the start of caring relationships are driven by the changing demands for care within and between generations over the life course. There is no firm evidence that carers increase their involvement in caring activities over the first three years of a caring episode.
Conclusions: The population of carers is constantly changing as some people stop providing care and others take on a caring role or vary their level of involvement. Policy measures responsive to the diversity of caring roles, and geared around key transitions, are likely to be most effective in supporting carers through changing circumstances. Recognition and support for carers who are heavily involved in caring activities from the outset should be a priority.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (220.3 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Arno P. S., Levine C., Memmott M. M. The economic value of informal caregiving. Health Aff (Millwood) 1999 Mar-Apr;18(2):182–188. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.18.2.182. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Grundy E. M. Population review: (5). The population aged 60 and over. Popul Trends. 1996 Summer;(84):14–20. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Grundy E., Glaser K. Socio-demographic differences in the onset and progression of disability in early old age: a longitudinal study. Age Ageing. 2000 Mar;29(2):149–157. doi: 10.1093/ageing/29.2.149. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Heaton Janet, Arksey Hilary, Sloper Patricia. Carers' experiences of hospital discharge and continuing care in the community. Health Soc Care Community. 1999 Mar;7(2):91–99. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2524.1999.00170.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hirst M. Trends in informal care in Great Britain during the 1990s. Health Soc Care Community. 2001 Nov;9(6):348–357. doi: 10.1046/j.0966-0410.2001.00313.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Howe A. L., Schofield H., Herrman H. Caregiving: a common or uncommon experience? Soc Sci Med. 1997 Oct;45(7):1017–1029. doi: 10.1016/s0277-9536(97)00017-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Nolan M., Dellasega C. 'I really feel I've let him down': supporting family carers during long-term care placement for elders. J Adv Nurs. 2000 Apr;31(4):759–767. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2648.2000.01346.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Seltzer M. M., Li L. W. The dynamics of caregiving: transitions during a three-year prospective study. Gerontologist. 2000 Apr;40(2):165–178. doi: 10.1093/geront/40.2.165. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Smith K., Wright K. Informal care and economic appraisal: a discussion of possible methodological approaches. Health Econ. 1994 May-Jun;3(3):137–148. doi: 10.1002/hec.4730030303. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Tennstedt S., Harrow B., Crawford S. Informal care vs. formal services: changes in patterns of care over time. J Aging Soc Policy. 1996;7(3-4):71–91. doi: 10.1300/J031v07n03_05. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]