US : Facts About Older Americans, Caregiving, and Relocation Stress Syndrome

Nearly half of people age 65 and older consider themselves to be middle aged or young. …….Only 15 % of people 75 + consider themselves « very old. » American Perceptions on Aging in the 21st Century, The National Council on the Aging (NCOA), 2002.

Caregiving

Nearly 25% of households (23 million) are involved in caregiving to someone 50 or older (AARP).

73% of caregivers are female and 25% of all caregivers are daughters. National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC)

More than 7 million Americans manage care for a relative who lives at least one hour away. (NCOA)

During the next 15 years, the number of long-distance caregivers will more than double. Many caregivers work either full or part-time while providing care. (NCOA)

Demographics

In 2004, there were 36.3 million people 65 and over in the United States, accounting for 12 percent of the total population. By 2030, this number will increase to 20% of the population or about 71.5 million. American Society on Aging (ASA)

The very old — those aged 85 and older— is the fastest growing segment of the 65+ population. ; In 2000, 2% of the population (4 million adults) were 85 and over. In 2004, there were 4.9 million people 85 and an increase of almost 25% in 4 years. By 2050, 19 million adults (5% of Americans) will be 85 and over.

The number of Centenarians — those over 100 — is growing even faster than those over 85. In 2004 there were over 64,000 people 100 and over. By 2050 this number will grow to 2.5 million.

Children born in 2000 have a life expectancy of 77 years. ; Children born in 2050 will have a life expectancy of 80. People reaching the age of 65 in 2000 can expect to live another 18 years. National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Economics and Employment

Americans older than 50 control more than 77% of the country’s financial assets.

Baby Boomers have $2 trillion to spend. « They will have immense spending power with the potential to change how America does business, since the goods and services sought by these older people will be in much higher demand. » Sandra Timmermann, Ed.D., director of the MetLife Mature Market

The median net worth in 2000 of households with householders 65 and over was $108,885. In contrast, householders under the age of 35 had a median household net worth of $7,240.

25% of employed caregivers (1.25 million people) lose at least one day per month to caregiving. Annually, this is about 15 million days. (NCOA )

Geographic Distribution

California had the highest number of people 65 and older (3.8 million) in 2004, followed by Florida (2.9 million), New York (2.5 million), Texas (2.2 million), Pennsylvania (1.9 million), Ohio (1.5 million) and Illinois (1.5 million). Florida had the highest proportion, 16.8 percent of its total population, in the 65 and older age group, followed by West Virginia and Pennsylvania (15.3 percent each) and North Dakota and Iowa (14.7 percent each).

Moving Patterns

Sixty per cent of older movers remain in the same county. Twenty per cent move to other counties in the same state and 20 per cent move to another state.

People aged 85 and over move more frequently than the 65+ population as a whole.

Housing and Living Arrangements

In 2000, 4.5% of older adults lived in nursing homes. ; The percentage rises steeply with age (1.1 percent for persons 65-74, 4.7 percent for persons 75-84 and 18.2 percent for persons 85 and older).

“Each time an older person finds it is no longer reasonable to live in his or her home or community, it is a crisis on an individual and family level.” John Rother, AARP’s Director of Policy and Strategy.

Facts About Relocation Stress Syndrome (RSS)

Relocation stress is defined as a state in which an individual experiences physiological and/or psychological disturbances as a result of transfer from one environment to another.

Major characteristics of relocation stress syndrome include loneliness, depression, anger, apprehension and anxiety. Minor characteristics include changes in sleeping and eating habits, insecurity, lack of trust and need for excessive reassurance. The presence of five characteristics defining the nursing diagnosis of RSS are dependency, confusion, anxiety, depression, and withdrawal.

Factors that increase relocation stress include: degree of change experienced and perceived lack of predictability or control over one’s environment.

Residents who received considerable preparation in advance of the move using a specialized transfer team and maintaining the same staff before and after the move showed little or no post move increase in mortality. Important features included: sense of personal control over the environment, adequate time to prepare for the move, minimizing differences between the old and new environment, and development of a specialized transfer team to prepare residents physically and mentally so change is minimized.

Residents who had an easy adjustment to the new environment fared better than residents who had a difficult transition.

Melrose , S. (2004). “Reducing relocation stress syndrome in long term care facilities.” Journal of Practical Nursing 54(4), 15-17.

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Source : http://www.movingsolutions.com/

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