Caregiving as a Women's Health Issue
What are the unspoken risks and realities for women caregivers?
Women are known to be at higher risk for several health conditions, including breast cancer, osteoporosis, cervical cancer and urinary tract infections. These issues are frequently discussed by experts and regularly screened for in female patients. However, there is a less discussed health risk that impacts millions of women in the United States, increasing their likelihood of developing chronic conditions, depression and anxiety: unpaid family caregiving.
For many women caregivers, stress levels are already high due to family and work obligations, and adding caregiving responsibilities to that can drain them of what little time, energy and resources they have to spare. | Credit: Getty
"Though more men are beginning to serve as caregivers than they did in the past, women still make up around 60% of all unpaid family caregivers of older adults," says Lisa Weitzman, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Benjamin Rose and manager of WeCare…Because You Do, a telephone- and email-based care coaching program.
"Caregiving is absolutely a women's health issue, and should be recognized as such."
"We talk about how lifestyle factors like diet, exercise, smoking and alcohol consumption can impact health, but caregiving is rarely mentioned with these, even though it can have a significant effect on health, especially among the high percentage of women who take on the role," she adds. "Caregiving is absolutely a women's health issue, and should be recognized as such."
Why Does Caregiving Impact Women to Such a Degree?
The kind of women who are caregivers
Though caregivers can come from many different types of backgrounds and circumstances, the most common type of unpaid family caregiver is an employed woman in the 45 to 64 age range. "These women are generally mid-career, and may still be raising their own children while providing care for an older family member," says Weitzman. "Most likely, their stress levels are already high due to their family and work obligations, and adding caregiving responsibilities to that can unfortunately drain them of what little time, energy and resources they have to spare."
Working caregivers often find themselves in a difficult juggling act of maintaining their professional standards while also providing quality care. According to caregiving.com, about 24% of female family caregivers worry about their work performance being judged negatively due to their caregiving responsibilities, while one in three are forced to consider early retirement in order to maintain their role.
"The other type of caregiver we commonly see are retired or unemployed women caring for their spouses," says Weitzman. "These women are generally elderly themselves and have their own health and well-being issues. And what we see with this population in particular is that they prioritize the person they're caring for and stop paying attention to their own health."
The way women provide care
The work of caregivers can be both physical and demanding. While professional caregivers train to be able to lift, carry or transport patients as needed, untrained caregivers will find these tasks much harder. "What may surprise many is that men are actually more willing than women to outsource the incredibly physical tasks of caregiving to professionals," Weitzman says. "Women tend to take caregiving responsibilities entirely onto themselves. They don't tend to ask for help, even for tasks that involve physically hard labor, like bathing, toileting, dressing and so on."
"The view of women as nurturers and men as providers is still deeply rooted."
The societal expectation on women to nurture others
For many women, especially those from more traditional households, caregiving is still seen as a societal expectation and moral obligation rather than a role one chooses for oneself. "The view of women as nurturers and men as providers is still deeply rooted," says Weitzman. "And when caregiving is seen as a moral obligation, it is no longer seen as work. The supports that we give to somebody who is a working professional aren't provided to the women who are viewed as simply doing what they ought to do."
The Impact of Caregiving on Women
Physical and Mental Health
"The physical and mental health ramifications of caregiving for women can last for many years after they are no longer caregivers," says Weitzman. "It impacts depression and cardiovascular levels. It impacts people's resistance to diseases and the way the body fights them because their immune system breaks down. Caregivers also tend to confront grief in two equally devastating stages, first in coping with the coming loss of their loved one, and then again when their loved one actually passes. For dementia caregivers, this can be a painfully long and slow goodbye."
Self-Neglect
Female caregivers, especially older women caring for their spouses, run the risk of entirely neglecting their physical and mental health in order to prioritize their loved one. "Oftentimes, we see caregivers passing away before the person for whom they're caring because the stress of caregiving is so incredible, or they simply have completely ignored their own well-being," says Weitzman.
Social Isolation
Self-neglect can often be worsened by caregivers socially insolating themselves from others. "What many don't realize is that socialization is a safety net," says Weitzman. "The people in our lives are often more likely than we ourselves are to recognize when something is wrong with us, and give us those much needed urges to take care of ourselves and see a doctor. This is especially true for women, who discuss health more openly with each other than men do."
Social isolation is also deeply tied to mental health, as we all had to contend with during COVID-19. "When we're struggling, we really need others in our lives to help us make it through," Weitzman adds. "Caregivers strive to be that person for their loved one, but don't seek that same support for themselves."
"Oftentimes, we see caregivers passing away before the person for whom they're caring because the stress of caregiving is so incredible,"
How Can Women Emphasize Their Own Well-Being?
Build a professional and personal community
Building a community is an important first step in combating isolation and delegating physically demanding care tasks. Other family members and friends may be more willing to take certain tasks off your plate than you think, and your area may offer more support services than you're aware of. Consult the Eldercare Locator to see what's available in your area, and reach out to family and friends when you need support. Even if they can't help with your loved one's care directly, having them in your corner as someone to talk to can still make a difference.
Self-identify as a caregiver
A key element of being able to build a community as a caregiver is recognizing you are one in the first place. "Many women see caregiving as simply being a good daughter, sister, niece or friend," says Weitzman. "However, most services are marketed to family and friend caregivers, so accepting the title generally makes it easier to find and access these services, and accept that they're meant for people in your situation."
Find little moments of self-care
"Not only is it OK to make time for yourself, it's imperative."
While self-care is often painted as getaway vacations and trips to the spa, it's actually better for self-care to be small acts repeated over a long period of time rather than one momentous occasion. "Micro-breaks focused on finding peace in the moment and dedicating a little bit of your time to something you're passionate about are useful tools for helping yourself in the long-term," Weitzman says.
Embrace self-care as a necessity, not an option
The real struggle is getting women to stop viewing even small acts of self-care as luxuries they don't have the time to afford themselves. "Not only is it OK to make time for yourself, it's imperative," says Weitzman, "Think about the airline rule of putting on your oxygen mask before helping someone else with theirs. If you don't take care of yourself, you won't be able to take care of another person long-term because you just simply won't be able to withstand it."
Remember the good in what you're doing
Though caregiving of course comes with challenges and risks, it's important to let the beautiful moments sink in as well. "It can be an honor to accompany somebody at the end of life," Weitzman says. "There can be a great deal of joy in the one-on-one moments you share, and in giving back to a person who has loved and been there for you. Holding onto those moments can bring peace in an otherwise difficult time."
Advocate for a better tomorrow
Finally, it's important to remember that we all play a role in championing policies that make life a little better for caregivers. "We have family leave policy for women caring for children, but there's very little, if any, family leave policies for people caring for older adults," says Weitzman. "We need to recognize — and encourage others to recognize — the value of the work provided by family caregivers, which is close to $500 billion, more than the annual budget for Medicaid."
"We couldn't have our older adults age in place if we didn't have our family caregivers. If that's the health care structure our nation has built, we need to be pushing our nation to provide concrete ways for caregivers to receive the help they need so they're not sacrificing themselves and their health for the sake of the ones they love," she says.
