And caregivers in general say they face unforeseen dangers and demands because of the virus, which takes more time and effort, but cares more about their family and friends than for themselves.
The Associated Press-NORC Public Affairs Research Center found that 17% of Americans say they provide ongoing care as a component of a casual voluntary body. componenticular due to the pandemic.
For Chad Reese of Canton, Ohio, the care provision coincided with the pandemic. Her stepmother moved in with her circle of relatives some time before the outbreak while being treated for complex breast cancer. “It’s herbal for us,” said Reese, a museum’s generation director.
What didn’t seem right was that they couldn’t accompany their mother-in-law to cancer remedies because of coronavirus protocols. “A lot of things have been lost in the translation,” Reese said. “One of us has to stay in the car. . That continues to this day. »
Of those already offering attention, 36% said their day-to-day jobs had increased. Additional day-to-day work is felt more strongly through caregivers who lost their jobs or source of income because of the pandemic. difficulties reported that their daily care work has increased, compared to 25% of those doing well financially.
The survey found that one in 20 caregivers paid attention to an inflamed user with COVID-19, once unpacked, this number shows some social disparities. While 11% of non-white caregivers say they have cared for an inflamed user, only 2% of white caregivers have them. As a component of an ongoing series, the survey funded through the SCAN Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on the quality of life problems of the elderly.
The concern of accidentally transmitting the virus has become the main concern of the caregivers: in the survey, 44% were very or very involved with the dangers to the user for which they are involved, compared to the 28% who said the same about theirs. Dangers.
“I stay up at night and turn around,” said Seth Peters, associate professor at the University of Utah. This is an individual logistics operation for her 78-year-old widowed mother, who lives in her own home, more cloistered than ever because for the rest of her life, Peters interacted with academics and her two young men were in school.
When she goes to see her mother, “she’s even afraid to let me take the dog,” Peters said.
“I don’t even know if it’s imaginable to give it to the dog,” he added, referring to the virus.
Nora Voytko, who lives near Austin, Texas, is helping care for her adult son-in-law, who is disabled due to muscular dystrophy, a genetic disease that causes progressive weakness and muscle loss, as well as affecting her breathing.
After the outbreak began, the circle of relatives discontinued physiotherapy remedies at home. The survey found that 28% of existing caregivers had in the past hired someone to provide home care, but canceled them as a result of the outbreak.
Voytko’s daughter assumed the role of therapist. ” Once COVID appeared, the risks were too much for any of us to be exposed to the general public,” Voytko said.
The survey found that caregivers, like others, are increasingly in telehealth in addition to ordering materials and food.
But Aaron Pettry, from Marmet, West Virginia, does shopping from time to time at the store. He and his wife look at their mother-in-law at home, and Pettry said he was following a procedure when he returned home: city clothes on the spinning machine. .
Her mother-in-law is 80 years old and “we know that if she gets it, it can be bad for her,” she said. The mail is sprayed with Lysol disinfectant.
William Arnone, executive director of the National Nonprofit Social Insurance Academy, said the survey highlighted expanding stress on caregivers and the lack of a formula for members of the middle class.
“It’s a set of pressures, both physical and emotional,” he said. “The pandemic has exacerbated it, but an ageing population alone will make things worse. “
The vote found that an increasing number of Americans say the government or fitness insurance pays for long-term care. Since 2018, the percentage that Medicare has a great duty has gone from 45% to 56%, and the percentage that says the same about fitness insurance companies has gone from 50% to 59%.
Retirement homes are a primary choice for home care, yet their reputation has been affected: nursing homes and long-term care services account for about 1% of the US population. However, they account for approximately 40% of COVID-19 deaths.
In the survey, 41% say they now have a less favorable opinion of retirement than before the virus. Only 10% have a more favorable opinion.
“He would be very nervous about a situation of network life,” said Paul Frese, who cares for his parents, living alone in the 1980s. “I’d rather you settled for a caregiver who can come every day and make sure everyone and everything is in the house.
Frese is a retired communications generation specialist from Chicago, and the most of his care today is done through remote devices. He installed a camera formula on the door of his parents’ house to make sure they are intruders. This also allows you to verify that they’re intruders, hidden if they leave the house.
But physical distance corrodes it. ” I can’t hug them,” Frese said. “I can’t have any of the general circle of family interactions. . . and there’s little time left in all our lives. “
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Associated Press editor Marion Renault and election journalist Hannah Fingerhut contributed to the report.
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The AP-NORC survey of 1,893 adults, adding 565 existing caregivers, conducted from August 27 to September 14 with the investment of the SCAN Foundation. It uses a NORC AmeriSpeak Probabilistic Panel pattern, which is designed to be representative of the U. S. population. The sampling error margin for all respondents is about 3 percentage points.
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Online:
AP-NORC Center: http://www. apnorc. org/.
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