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When a loved one requires long term care, chances are a woman is more likely to provide it. Sociologists can debate the reasons, but when faced with a family member who needs care, a woman may be more likely to ask what she can do to help, while a man may be more likely to ask who he can get to help him. Seven in teo unpaid caregivers are women, mostly wives and adult daughters. According to a survey by the National Alliance for Caregiving and the AARP, nearly one of five of these unpaid caregivers (19%) provided "constant care" of at least 40 hours of care per week. Of those who provided constant care, 80% were women.
As women know, the balancing act eventually begins to tip. To continue providing care for those they love, many women find they must take time off from work, pass up transfers, reject promotions or retire early. This can place added strain on themselves, their families and their finances. The National Alliance for Caregiving / AARP survey also found that more than half of employed women who were providing care for a relative had to make accomodations to their job by coming in late, leaving early or working fewer hours, while about 1/5th of employed women had to give up their work temporarily or permanently. For women business owners, the stakes are even higher. At a woman-owned business - numbering some 10.6 million firms - taking time off to care for a relative might put the ongoing success of the business at risk. The growth of women-owned businesses is a major economic force in America. If a woman business owner becomes focused on providing for a loved one's long term care needs, the impact on the business could be substantial. Missing work or other responsibilities to are for a loved one can prove stressful, as well as financially damaging. If the patient has some form of severe cognitive impairment, the stress levels for those providing care can be especially high. A study published by The New England Journal of Medicine described end-of-life care for people with dementia as "extremely demanding" on family caregivers, leading to an increased risk of illness and mental health issues for the caregivers themselves. Dr. Laurel Coleman, a geriatrician who is a board member of the Alzheimer's Association, said that it's not known whether these changes are caused by the stress of caring for someone or because the women caregivers are not focusing on taking care of themselves as they should. Nonetheless, caregivers may find themselves at increased risk of conditions such as heart problems, depression, anxiety or trouble controlling diabetes. "One of the first things that strikes people when they are caring for someone with dementia," she said, "is how totally consuming it is.... You can't predict the disease - some people become fairly passive, confused or withdrawn, and they can be a little easier to care for than someone who is argumentative, paranoid or suspicious. With those types of people, you are spending half your time dealing with that and not doing anything productive to move your day forward. So those become real back-breakers as far as caregivers go." Long term care insurance can provide the means for much-needed relief and respites for caregivers. When we talk about long term care insurance, "we're not just talking about impacting the lives of claimants, we're also impacting the caregivers." |
