Caregiving

It’s hard to know exactly what long-term care services you’ll need,  how long you’ll need them, or whether you’ll have family or friends who can care for you. If you do have family or friends that can care for you, you should be aware of how it will change their lives, finances, careers and families.

Researchers have found that caregiving can profoundly affect caregivers. They have found that caregivers are less healthy compared to non-caregivers and tend to exhibit more of the following:

• Decreased ability to fight illness 
• Slower healing rates 
• Higher hospitalization rates
• Higher death rates 
• Higher incidence of headaches, gastro-intestinal problems and insomnia
• Increased risk of heart disease 
• Increased rates of poor general health

The National Alliance for Caregiving is dedicated to providing support to family caregivers, the professionals who help them and to increasing public awareness of issues facing family caregivers.