AARP Poll Reveals Caregivers’ Life Changes

According to a new AARP poll, almost three out of 10 people who are caring for a loved one say their life has changed since becoming a caregiver. More than one in five says their weight, exercise, or social life has suffered. To illustrate the complexity and help the 42 million sons and daughters, friends, and spouses caring for parents and loved ones see themselves as caregivers, AARP and the Ad Council are unveiling a new suite of Public Service Advertisements (PSAs) as part of their Caregiver Assistance campaign. The PSAs will be distributed as part of National Family Caregivers Month (November) and direct caregivers to tools and resources to help cope with their daily responsibilities at aarp.org/caregiving. AARP’s national poll, Caregivers: Life Changes and Coping Strategies, underscores the personal challenges of caregiving; one in three report feeling sad or depressed and 44 percent admit to bottling up their feelings. Additionally, 38 percent of respondents say they sleep less since becoming a caregiver, 24 percent eat more, 33 percent avoid making decisions, and a third isolate themselves, avoiding people or situations.

Created pro bono by New York-based advertising agency TAXI, the multimedia PSAs show the many hats caregivers wear in caring for their older loved ones. Every day, caregivers are nurses, housekeepers, personal assistants, cooks, and accountants, but above all they are daughters, sons, grandchildren, spouses, nieces, and nephews. As reflected in the poll, 52 percent of caregivers are “proud” to be caregivers. Through the PSAs women aged 40 to 60 are urged to visit aarp.org/caregiving for tools and resources and to connect with experts and other caregivers in a supportive community where “together, we can better care for ourselves and the ones we love.”   

Source/more: AARP