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WASHINGTON (AP) – Skipping your checkup but not grandma's? Caring for an older loved one is a balancing act, and a new poll shows that too often it's the caregivers' health that's neglected.
The survey, by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found a third of caregivers to see a doctor for their illness or injury because they are too busy with their caregiving duties.
Doctors miss opportunities to help. Most caregivers go to medical appointments with the elderly they care for, they are less likely to get information about self-care, support programs or other services .
"We have a long, long run term," said AARP long-term care specialist Lynn Feinberg. "This survey really does point out the need to look at both the person and the family."
Four in 10 Americans have provided long-term care to an older relative or friend, a volunteer workforce that's growing as the population ages. The AP-NORC survey released Monday, September 1, 2009, which is especially important for the job market, especially caregivers who are over 40, the amount of time spent on caregivers is equivalent to a full-time job.
Most informal caregivers view their role as a key to their identity. But it can be difficult to meet their own physical and mental health needs.
Nearly 40 percent of caregivers have a health problem, physical disability or mental health that impacts their daily lives or their activities, the poll found. More than a quarter of caregivers say it's difficult to manage their own health along with caregiving duties. Even more, 40 percent, find it a struggle.
Deborah Ecker and her husband recently moved her parents to their home in Pennsylvania, spurred by some frightening hospitalizations. Ecker's father, at 89, requires full-time oxygen for emphysema and had contracted pneumonia. Her mother, 88, was hospitalized with congestive heart failure and severely high blood pressure.
"I'm thrown myself into this, and I'm not sorry," said Ecker, 61, who is with her husband. "They are so loving and generous."
But a few months ago, Ecker made the most of it. She's undergone successful cancer treatment in 2016 but is overweight, and the hours of exercise that have been routine have fallen by the wayside.
A post-hospitalization monitoring program from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center gave Ecker more confidence in caring for her mother, and she was able to travel to see her own doctor. Insulin resistance was put on pounds, Ecker learned, and a dietary program. Next she's planning to work in exercise time.
"I feel like I'm on track," Ecker said. "At the end of this life I want to be strong enough and healthy enough to have a life of my own."
The AP-NORC poll found only a quarter of caregivers talk about their caregivers responsibilities – but among those who did, learned about self-care.
In contrast, the vast majority of caregivers assist the medical assistance, usually going into the exam rather than staying in the waiting room. Yet fewer than 40 percent gleaned advice on caregiver resources during those visits.
Caregivers and their charges "should be treated simultaneously," said University of Pittsburgh's aging specialist Richard Schulz. "They should be looked at as a unit," because the caregiver burns out, the patient may have no one left.
The health system marginalizes caregivers partly because there is no way to check for caregivers during someone else's visit, but Schulz said.
Ralph Bencivenga, of New York City, who lost so much weight while caring for his terminally ill wife and undergoing his own cancer treatment. grocery shopping and cooking duties.
"I had no idea what kind of stress that put me under," he said of the overall caregiving duties.
The new poll found many caregivers find healthy ways to cope, such as praying, meditating, spending time outdoors or talking about their situation. But 44 percent sleep less, and 17 percent increase alcohol or tobacco use.
The AP-NORC long-term care was conducted June 26 to July 10, with funding from the SCAN Foundation. It involved interviews in English and French with 1,024 adults nationwide who have experience providing long-term care. NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population.
The margin of error is over or minus 4.1 percentage points.
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AP polling editor Emily Swanson contributed to this report.
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Online:
Poll: https://www.longtermcarepoll.org/
An AP-NORC Interactive video center explores the perspectives of informal caregivers: https://interactives.ap.org/ltc-perspectives
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