To estimate the number of friend caregivers to older adults and the characteristics of care provided by friends compared to family members, and to identify sociodemographic and health-related characteristics of older adults associated with receiving care from friends.
Approach:
Study Design: Cross-sectional study using data from the 2023 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS).
Participants: Medicare enrollees aged 65 years or older living in the US with limitations in daily activities and at least one caregiver.
Data Collection: Data collected from May 2023 to April 2024, with proxy responses for 15% of participants.
Caregiver Definition: Family caregivers include kin, while friends are designated as friend or neighbor.
Care Tasks: Participants reported on 16 care tasks grouped into five domains: mobility, self-care, transportation, household activities, and medical care.
Key Findings:
The number of family and unpaid caregivers has increased from 18 million to 24 million.
Older adults with fewer family members are more likely to include friends in their care networks.
Friend caregivers may provide fewer hours of care and are less likely to be involved in extensive care tasks compared to family caregivers.
Interpretation:
Understanding the role of friend caregivers can help health professionals engage this resource in care planning and delivery.
Limitations:
The study is based on self-reported data, which may introduce bias.
Friend caregivers were defined narrowly, excluding other non-kin caregivers.
Conclusion:
The study highlights the importance of recognizing friend caregivers in the care of older adults, especially when family support is limited.
