You might be surprised to learn that up to 45% of caregiving is provided by men! The traditional role associated with women is changing rapidly with caregiving being shared by both men and women, often with different responsibilities and types of care provided.

Shifting trends in longevity, career commitments and health diagnosis have changed the way we age. Instead of the Sandwich generation we now have the Club Sandwich generation where there are 4 generations with those in their 40’s to 70’s being caught in caring for parents and grandchildren.

A major issue with the change in longevity is the increased time spent in advanced age with the likelihood of some health issues that may be short term (knee replacement) or longer term with cardiac, diabetes or other chronic conditions. It used to be that the timeframe after retirement was short and more intense when health issues occurred, but with the development of so many health resources and treatments we have changed the trajectory of aging and dying. Given that most of us will live into our 80’s, how have we planned or prepared for this time?

Financial planning has become the norm for most people with this process often starting in the 20’s and 30’s to ensure control and security over future finances. Did you stop to consider that the most critical aspect in determining how you spend your assets could be your health? What planning have you done for health? Even with lots of financial resources the most important resource is the human resources you have in your personal world.

With increasing geographic distances between family members, the issue of caregiving becomes more costly and complicated. Most women are now in the workforce and no longer available as primary caregivers to family members. Aging parents become a team working together to support one another and the deficits are often not noticeable until an acute event occurs. With aging being the greatest risk factor for dementia and women having a higher rate than men, this means more men are becoming caregivers to their spouses in the later years. Everyone can understand that being a caregiver in the later years has significant impact on the ‘healthy’ spouse and can often cause health issues for the caregiver. Now families have 2 people to care for.

There is a growing trend of younger families asking how they can support their aging parents to have control and be empowered in making decisions in advance of health challenges so that families can honor decisions already expressed, rather than being burdened with decision making. In turn, they realize that they, too, need planning in place for the unexpected and to ensure their children are cared for should the need arise.

We have choice as to how we deal with unexpected health changes:

1. We can get up the courage to make some proactive plans as a Gift to Our Family
2. We can wait until some problems to occur and use this as an opportunity to plan
3. We can wait for the crisis and all that occurs with that

Comprehensive Health Planning is relatively new and engages families in a meaningful and rewarding way. It removes many unknowns and creates guides for ‘what to do’ should they need to step forward.

Where do you stand?

Janet Bullard

Proactive Health Care Advisors

www.proactivehealthadvisor.com