Table 2.
Community-Dwelling Older Adults Receiving Help with Self-Care or Indoor Mobility, Stratified by Primary Caregiver Relationship
| All | Spouse | Child | Other | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 2004 | 2011 | 2015a | 1999 | 2015a | 1999 | 2015a | 1999 | 2015a | |
| Weighted (000s); Row % | 2,270 | 2,635 | 4,581 | 5,222 | 42.7 | 48.9 | 38.7 | 36.1 | 18.6 | 15.0 |
| Age in years (%)a | ||||||||||
| 65–74 | 28.3* | 26.6* | 36.1 | 41.7 | 43.1* | 54.6 | 13.9* | 28.8 | 24.5 | 30.9 |
| 75–84 | 41.6* | 42.0* | 37.9 | 35.5 | 45.9* | 35.4 | 38.6 | 33.8 | 38.0 | 39.7 |
| 85+ | 30.1* | 31.4* | 26.0 | 22.8 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 47.5* | 37.4 | 37.5 | 29.4 |
| Female gender (%) | 63.9 | 66.3 | 64.0 | 60.8 | 42.7 | 46.4 | 84.3 | 77.7 | 69.9 | 67.2 |
| Race (%)a | ||||||||||
| White | 86.7* | 83.8 | 83.2 | 80.1 | 91.8 | 88.2 | 86.3* | 73.9 | 75.7 | 68.6 |
| Black | 10.4 | 10.3* | 13.7 | 13.8 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 10.5* | 19.5 | 20.8 | 22.7 |
| Other | 2.9 | 5.9 | 3.2* | 6.1 | 2.4 | 4.9 | 3.2 | 6.5 | 3.5 | 8.7 |
| Hispanic ethnicity (%)b | — | 7.2 | 9.1 | 6.5 | — | 3.1 | — | 10.5 | — | 7.8 |
| 12+ years education (%) | 45.4* | 51.8* | 65.0* | 74.7 | 55.3* | 83.8 | 37.8* | 66.0 | 38.7* | 66.1 |
| Marital status (%)a | ||||||||||
| Married | 49.7* | 46.2* | 56.0* | 61.7 | 12.4* | 25.1 | 12.1* | 24.8 | ||
| Widowed | 43.4* | 44.5* | 33.7 | 29.2 | 80.9* | 58.5 | 65.0 | 53.9 | ||
| Other | 6.9 | 9.2 | 10.3 | 7.4 | 6.7* | 16.4 | 22.9 | 21.3 | ||
| Medicaid (%) | 23.1 | 24.3 | 21.4 | 20.7 | 12.2 | 11.2 | 28.5 | 31.8 | 36.9* | 24.7 |
| Living arrangement (%)a | ||||||||||
| Alone | 16.2* | 19.2* | 12.2 | 10.4 | 29.4* | 18.9 | 23.8 | 23.8 | ||
| Spouse only | 38.3* | 35.4* | 41.6 | 46.9 | 81.4 | 81.8 | 6.0 | 10.9 | 6.4* | 19.5 |
| Adult child | 33.3 | 34.8 | 36.7 | 33.6 | 12.5 | 13.4 | 60.0 | 63.5 | 25.5 | 27.7 |
| Other | 12.3 | 10.6 | 9.5 | 9.1 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 6.7 | 44.4* | 29.0 |
| Dementia (%)b | 29.7 | 28.7 | 35.0* | 26.8 | 22.9 | 16.9 | 35.4 | 40.2 | 33.2 | 27.0 |
| Degree of self-care, indoor mobility help (%)a,c | ||||||||||
| Standby only or 1–2 activities | 65.3 | 68.3 | 61.8* | 66.8 | 68.5 | 76.8 | 63.0 | 55.6 | 63.0 | 61.0 |
| 3–4 activities | 18.0 | 15.2 | 21.9 | 19.2 | 18.2 | 14.4 | 18.1* | 26.0 | 17.3 | 18.2 |
| 5–6 activities | 16.7 | 16.5 | 16.3 | 14.1 | 13.4 | 8.8 | 18.9 | 18.4 | 19.7 | 20.8 |
Notes: NHATS = National Health and Aging Trends Study; NLTCS = National Long Term Care Survey.
aTests of statistical significance using reference period of 2015 and each category in comparison with all others.
bHispanic ethnicity was not available in 1999. Additional details regarding dementia measurement are included in Supplementary Appendix B.
cSelf-care activities include: eating, dressing, bathing, and toileting. Indoor mobility refers to transferring and getting around inside. Standby help refers to NLTCS only and is combined with 1–2 self-care/ mobility activities to maximize comparability with the NHATS.
*Denotes statistical significance at p < .05.