Caregiver Health

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Basic Facts

What Do Care Partners Do?

Care partners often help with many different tasks, including:

  • Medical and nursing tasks (for example, managing medications or caring for wounds)
  • Transportation
  • Support with healthcare decisions
  • Emotional support
  • Physical care
  • Homemaking tasks
  • Care coordination or care management

Caregiving is Common

  • About 42 million Americans (about 1 in 6) provide care to someone age 50 or older
  • Most care partners provide care at least once a week
  • 19% of care partners help two or more adults
  • 27% of care partners say it is hard to find affordable services
  • 62% of care partners are employed

Most care partners provide care to a close family member, most often a parent. About 63% of care partners are women.

Caregiver Stress

  • 28% of care partners have been providing care for five years or longer
  • About 1 in 6 care partners report high financial strain
  • 36% report high emotional stress
  • 17% report caregiving is physically stressful
  • 1 in 5 care partners rate their own health as fair or poor

Use our care partner health self-assessment to find out more about your own well-being. 

Getting Help

Caregiving is complex and different for every person. Common challenges include managing time, finding and accessing resources, keeping records, practicing self-care, and adjusting to changes in roles and identity.

Care partners often benefit from talking with healthcare professionals. These conversations can assess needs, screen for stress, and help start a plan for self-care.

Take a look at our Directory of Caregiver Health Organizations for helpful information.

 

Last Reviewed and Updated: October 2026 
By: AGS/HiAF Public Education Committee, HealthinAging.org Content Reviewers

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