Public Health

The Alliance is honored to present a new report, From Insight to Advocacy: Addressing Family Caregiving as a National Public Health Issue. This report identifies actions that can be taken to understand and address the impact of family caregiving on the public’s health.

The report describes family caregiving and the major caregiving issues affecting public health, including actions that can be taken specifically by state and local coalitions, health systems, and policymakers. The report also cites common data sources, identifies barriers to providing care within the aging network, and offers strategies on what caregiving advocates can do to get engaged. The report is offered as one response to a critical emerging trend: eldercare is projected to be the fastest-growing employment sector within health care. With as many as 44 million people estimated to provide care to an older adult or person with a disability, current research has noted that unpaid family caregiving impacts not just individuals, but family units, communities, states, and the nation

“This paper summarizes some of the thinking from our 2017 National Conference of Caregiver Advocates,” noted Michael Wittke, Director of Advocacy at the Alliance. “Research has shown an economic and health impact of caregiving on our society-at-large, and we should treat caregiving as a societal issue, not just an individual one,” said Wittke

The white paper will be used as a resource for the upcoming 12th Annual National Conference of Caregiver Advocates on March 26, 2018, which the Alliance will host in conjunction with the American Society on Aging in San Francisco. The one-day meeting of caregiving advocates will examine how public-private partnerships in caregiving across the lifespan can begin to address issues affecting the population as a whole.

Report & National Webinar

Download the “From Insight to Advocacy” report here.

For more than twenty years, the National Alliance for Caregiving has led public policy research and advocacy efforts to support America’s family caregivers. This work and the work of our colleagues has led to increased national attention to the issue of caregiving and the demands put on our aging population. In understanding the demands put on a caregiver, we’ve often looked at individual circumstance – how does caregiving affect an individual’s career, social life, finances, and retirement security?

Acknowledgements

The National Alliance for Caregiving is proud to present From Insight to Advocacy: Addressing Family Caregiving as a National Public Health Crisis. This white paper was made possible by grant funding from Genentech. It was made possible through the contributions and direction of the following subject-matter experts in caregiving and public health.

National Alliance for Caregiving

Rick Greene, M.S.W., Executive AdvisorGrace Whiting, J.D., President and CEO

Michael R. Wittke, B.S.W., M.P.A., Director of Advocacy

Guest Authors and Subject-Matter Experts

Jennifer Wolff, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Public Health Caregiving Surveillance Brief

Erin D. Bouldin, M.P.H., Ph.D., Department of Health and Exercise Science, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina

Lisa C. McGuire, Ph.D., Alzheimer’s Disease and Healthy Aging Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia

Supporting Families Caring for an Aging America

Richard Schulz, Ph.D., Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Professor of Epidemiology, Sociology, Psychology, Community Health, Nursing, & Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Director of Gerontology, Director, Geriatric Education Center of Pennsylvania and Associate Director, Aging Institute of UPMC Senior Services and the University of Pittsburgh.

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