California Watch, September 26, 2011

More than 6 million California adults provide care for a family member or friend with a long-term illness or disability. These informal caregivers manage bills and medications, clean and cook, and help their loved ones with tasks they can no longer do themselves – often at the expense of their own health, well-being and financial stability.

California’s caregivers have higher levels of psychological distress and engage in more poor health-related behaviors than do their non-caregiving counterparts, according to a study released last week by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Nearly 52 percent work full time in addition to providing an average of more than 21 hours of care each week. Few are compensated for their care; one in five spends more than $250 of their own money on caregiving each month.  Read More >