Family caregivers

Consider this gloomy WSJ article about aging. More Americans Are Aging Alone, Who Will Take Care of Them? The premise? “More than 16 million people aged 65 and older in the U.S. live alone. That represents 28% of that age group, almost triple the share in 1950." Whoa!  First of all 20% of the 65+ population is working today. Why? Life expectancy at 65 has risen to the mid-eighties for both women and men, compared to late 60’s, early 70’s in 1950. And a shrinking percentage of Americans live in rural areas today, according to Pew Research. While the article is a compelling description of a heroic organization of underpaid workers serving an Appalachian community, mapping the article to the reality of older adults in the United States today is disingenuous.

Clearly many caregivers are missing out on useful technology.  According to the new AARP Caregiving in the US report, utilization of useful technologies, detailed in a brief report attached here, that could help with care of either children or older adults is below 50% other than smart home tech. Maybe that is the smart doorbell?  Smart TV? --which is just about all you can buy.  Only 10% of caregivers say they own home health safety devices, which probably include a pendant with fall detection or an in-home fall detection device. If these caregivers are living with the older adult, perhaps that makes sense.  If not, perhaps they do not know what they don’t know. Only a third say they use smart home technology (for lighting? Temperature control? Other?). Perhaps the AARP site for caregivers would be of benefit.  Lots of information there.

This report is published every five years – and it is (still) dismaying.  The new report, Caregiving in the US 2025, was published this week. The previous report was surveyed in 2020. The bottom line of it is the sheer number of adults (63 million) who provide care to an adult family member or child with a medical condition or disability in the past 12 months. Most of this care is unpaid.  Some are leveraging state or national programs to pay family caregivers, and one-third, likely higher income, hire outside help. The report’s focus is on the 59 million who provide care for an adult. So what has changed in terms of tech use? If usage penetration is a metric, there is some progress. For example:

Government changes to help older adults. Caregiving and other demands of an aging population gained significant government attention and new initiatives during 2024, all approved, with only reimbursed telehealth access remaining to be approved. Technology enablement and access will likely be components of each of these initiatives as they evolve. Clearly more progress is required for protecting older adults from scams.

Aging in place is a business opportunity as much as it is a personal strategy.  The apparent enthusiasm for aging in place has fueled interest among home builders. Consumer aging in place desires provide work for home remodelers, adding features that make a home more accessible as people age. But for older adults, the motivation for aging in place is also an economic necessity.  The monthly cost of moving into senior housing, above $5500 nationwide, is out of the reach of most people. Remaining in a home and planning modest remodeling modifications will be the approach for most who want to stay.

Asking ChatGPT a question on an iPhone returns a detailed answer.  Of course, it’s slightly different when asked again. The question: “What devices are useful for monitoring older adults in their home?”  The­­ categories (and sub-categories) were not surprising – you can give it a try yourself.  They included medical alerts, smart home devices, cameras and video monitoring, remote health monitoring fall detection sensors, GPS tracking devices, medication management, environmental monitoring.   On the iPhone, adding companion robots – and an observation: “These devices, especially when used together, can create a safer and more supportive environment for older adults living independently.”