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In this day and age, caregiving is a social issue. It is of concern to policy makers, politicians at the
federal, state and local levels, employers, insurers, and healthcare providers. It is a topic of
discussion in faith communities and the subject of research in universities. Today, caregiving is much
more than a personal family issue. It is the issue of our age because sooner or later caregiving will
affect every family in America and we are not prepared either as individuals or as a society to deal with
it.
Then and Now
Families have always taken care of their chronically ill or disabled loved ones. Neighbors helped
neighbors if they did not have family around and communities even helped care for the ill among them;
however, the nature of caregiving has changed drastically over the years.
In the past:
- Families did not provide care for as many years as we do now.
- Families did not care for loved ones who are as ill, aged, or disabled.
- Families did not live in such a highly mobile society as we do now.
- Families did not care for loved ones when so many women were employed and waited until their thirties or even early forties to have children.
- Families did not provide care at a time when healthcare costs and the question of who should pay for them were such an issue of concern.
- Families did not provide care at a time when medical science had unlocked secrets about how to save and extend lives in ways that were previously unimaginable.
- Families did not care for loved ones at a time when the average age of the population was on the rise and baby boomers would soon be entering their senior years.
It is for all these reasons that caregiving is so very different today than it ever was before. It is
also one of the reasons why our healthcare system tends not to be responsive to the needs of caregiving
families and part of the reason that family caregiver advocacy organizations, like NFCA, are striving to
bring about changes in public policy.
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