Ensuring the Health and Wellness of Our Nation’s Family Caregivers
December 16, 2003
Washington, DC

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SECRETARY THOMPSON TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF
HEALTH PROMOTION ACTIVITIES IN THE LIVES OF 
OUR NATION’S FAMILY CAREGIVERS

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson will headline a town hall meeting to highlight the important role of health promotion and disease prevention activities in the ensuring the health and wellness of one of long-term care’s everyday heroes – our nation’s family caregivers. 

Family caregivers are a critical source of care to older persons with disabilities and chronic health problems. The unpaid and informal care they provide is an essential source of help for disabled elders in the community. If the work of family caregivers had to be replaced by paid home health care staff, research shows a significant cost to the nation of $45 billion to $94 billion per year. 

It is generally recognized that caring for an older person with a disability or chronic condition is burdensome and stressful to many family caregivers and contributes to psychiatric and physical morbidity. Alarmingly, about a third of these caregivers describe their own health as “fair to poor.” Recent research findings suggest stress associated with family caregiving can result in increased risks of infectious diseases, such as colds and flu, depressive symptoms, and chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Family caregiving, when accompanied by emotional strain, has also been found to be an independent risk factor for mortality among older adults. 

Research has also shown that family caregivers are less likely than peers of the same age to engage in health-promoting behaviors that are important for chronic disease prevention and control. Given that the demands of caring for a loved one may compromise caregiver health and functioning and increase caregivers’ risk of developing physical health problems, there is a pressing need to encourage family caregivers to engage in activities that will benefit their own health and well-being. 

“President George W. Bush and I want to make sure that our family caregivers are sufficiently supported, educated, and motivated to maintain and improve their health to enable them to remain in a care giving role over an extended period of time,” said Secretary Thompson.

The Secretary’s Town Hall on the health and wellness of family caregivers will focus on health promotion and disease prevention issues, as well as HHS-supported and community programs that are currently available to family caregivers.

Family caregivers will be on hand to deliver testimonies of their caregiving experiences and also, discuss the positive impacts that health promotion activities have on their quality of life with Secretary Thompson. 

This event will be held on December 16 in the Great Hall of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building from 10:00 am until 12:00 noon.

The Department of Health and Human Services supports family caregivers through the National Family Caregiver Support Program. Services can be accessed by contacting the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or www.eldercare.gov .