Nearly Half of Seniors Need Help with Routines

Nearly half of Americans age 65 and older, totaling about 18 million people, require help with routine daily activities like bathing, handling medications or meals, according to a study in Milbank Quarterly that calls for improved services and support for older Americans, their spouses, their children and other "informal caregivers."

“Twenty-nine percent in the study reported receiving help with taking care of themselves or getting around in the previous month,” said co-author Vicki A. Freedman, Ph.D., a research professor with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.

“Another 20 percent reported that they had difficulty carrying out these activities on their own.” The researchers examined 2011 data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study gathered during two-hour, in-person interviews with more than 7,500 Medicare recipients or a proxy, as well as information provided by staff members about nearly 500 nursing home residents.

For older adults who received help in a private home or in settings like assisted living, the average number of hours of care was 200 per month. Informal caregivers, mainly spouses and children, provided most of that help. About three in 10 older adults who received assistance supplemented this informal care with paid help.

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