This was written in The Wall Street Journal on Nov. 30, 2015: “Pepper, a humanoid robot, interacts with senior citizens at a nursing home. The facility is considering having the robot lead recreational activities to make up for a shortage of caregivers .
What is the status of caregivers in the USA ?
In the magazine Neurology Now [Oct./Nov. 2015]. “The researchers reviewed responses from roughly 36,000 Americans, broke them down into five-year age groups for caregivers and recipients ….” and the following were the results:
1.2 Billion: The number of unpaid hours of caregiving provided weekly in the United States.
$691 billion: The estimated value of that care.
4.3 percent: Percentage of U.S. gross domestic product represented by caregiving.
30.5 million: The number of full-time care aides who would be needed to provide that care without unpaid caregivers.
20 percent: The proportion of caregiving provided to people 80 years and older by people of the same age.
30: The approximate age at which average daily caregiving hours peak [at about three hours per day].
77: The approximate age a which the average hours spent receiving care becomes more than the average hours giving care.
1.5: The number of daily hours of caregiving typically received by elderly people. 6: The number of daily hours of caregiving typically received by young children. 137: Average minutes of unpaid caregiving provided daily by women.
110: Average minutes of unpaid caregiving provided daily by men.
What does the caregiving future hold for our nation when its population is living longer? Will our robots be named Obama?
John Messina
East Williston
