Nearly 7 million Americans are long-distance caregivers for older family members or friends, according to a new survey cosponsored by the National Council on the Aging (NCOA) and the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Long-distance care is a large and growing concern, particularly to baby boomers. The 76 million-member generation of adults who began turning 50 last year are finding themselves sandwiched between the needs of aging parents and growing children.The average age of the care-givers in the survey - the first study to focus exclusively on long-distance caregiving - was 46. The study estimated that 3.3 million baby boomers are providing long-distance care, and that number is expected to double over the next 15 years.
"To deal with this growing phenomenon, employers, consumers and government will need to foster better ways of helping the care-giver and receiver," said NCOA president James Firman.
More than half of all the respondents said their responsibilities interfere with professional, social or family needs. Among the employed respondents, 25 percent said they miss at least one day of work in a typical month because of caregiving, and 15 percent said they had taken unpaid leave during the past year.