Finding
Half of older parents who need daily care at home have unmet needs, and those with stepchildren are less likely to get help from their kids. Other at-risk groups include those with in-home caregivers or dementia, new studies show.
The Population Reference Bureau reports on research finding that vulnerable older adults are not getting their needs met, even with grown children or paid caregivers.
Half of older American parents who need help at home with daily activities are not getting that assistance, new analysis of the nationally representative National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) data shows.
“We find that unmet needs are quite high among older adults with care needs,” says Sarah Patterson of the University of Michigan’s Population Studies Center and lead author of the study. Unmet needs refer to going without things like showering, getting dressed or having clean laundry, or eating hot meals because of a lack of help, she explains.