More Than 1 Million Young Caregivers Live In the United States, But Policies Supporting Them Are Still ‘Emerging’

Being a family caregiver today is a demanding responsibility. If caregiving is stressful for the “typical” caregiver—a 49-year-old woman—think how much more is at stake when the caregiver is a child or teenager. Yet more than a million youngsters ages 8–18 take on challenging tasks to help a parent, grandparent, sibling, or other relative. While that number is undoubtedly an underestimate, it does not even include an emerging subgroup—children whose parents are struggling with opioid addiction. If we have limited information about the young people taking care of those with diabetes, cancer, and other chronic illnesses, we have even less information about children whose parents are addicted to opiates such as fentanyl, oxycodone, morphine, or heroin. Yet there is enough information to suggest that the epidemic is and will continue to adversely affect people in their primary parenting years and hence their children. For example, consider the high rate of hospitalization among those ages 25–44, the equal or nearly equal rates of addiction of men and women, and the growing number of newborns with serious withdrawal symptoms. In hard-hit areas, such as Kentucky, 15 of every 1,000 infants are born dependent on opioids. While these infants need treatment for their immediate withdrawal problems, they also need the kind of nurturing all infants need from their mothers. Pediatricians and drug treatment experts hope to avoid the panic that accompanied t...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Featured Population Health Public Health Quality Agnes Leu child caregivers family caregivers National Alliance for Caregiving Saul Becker United Hospital Fund Source Type: blogs