Why is long-term care a woman’s issue? Two words; longevity and caregiving. Women live longer than men. Women have higher rates of disability and chronic health problems. Thus, women are far more likely to need long-term care. And, as you’ll see from some of the facts and statistics below, women clearly need long-term care. Many (far too many) are impoverished as a result. Women are also the caregivers. When their husbands need long-term care, wives are there. Unfortunately, because many women are widowed, there is no one there to provide their long-term care?
Women spend twice as many years in a disabled state (as men) at the end of their lives: 2.8 years if they live past 65, and 3.0 years if they live past 80.
More than 70 percent of nursing home residents are women. Their average age at admission is 80.
Over three-fourths (75.7%) of residents in assisted living communities are women. Their average age at admission is 85.7.
Almost two-thirds of formal (paid) home care users and informal (unpaid) care recipients are women.
Among people age 75 or older, women are 60 percent more likely than men to need help with one or more activities of daily living such as eating, bathing, dressing or getting around their home.
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