2014 AARP Caregiving Survey: Opinions and Experiences of Puerto Rico Registered Voters Age 45 and Older
Puerto Rico registered voters age 45+ want to live independently at home for as long as possible with the help of family caregivers. They strongly support having community services that will enable people to remain in their own homes as they age.
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Over four in five (87%) Puerto Rico registered voters age 45+ say they want to receive care for themselves or their loved ones at home with caregiver assistance when the basic tasks of life become more difficult due to aging or illness. The vast majority of Puerto Rico registered voters age 45+ says it is extremely or very important to have services that allow people to stay in their own home as they age (88%) and more resources and training for family caregivers (89%). Puerto Rico registered voters age 45+ believe it is extremely or very important to have strong community supports to help people remain in their own home as they age including home health care services (93%), transportation services for seniors (92%), and centrally located information for caregivers (90%). Yet, less than half reports the presence of these community services: transportation (45%), home health care services (44%), and centrally located information for caregivers (31%).
Over three-fourths (77%) of Puerto Rico registered voters age 45+ are currently providing or have provided unpaid care to an adult loved one who is ill, frail, elderly or has a physical or mental disability. Two-thirds (66%) of Puerto Rico registered voters age 45+ say it is likely that they will provide unpaid care to an adult loved one in the future. Nearly all (93%) Puerto Rico caregivers age 45+ believe it is extremely or very important to be able to provide care so that their loved ones can keep living independently in their own home.
The vast majority of Puerto Rico registered voters age 45+ support policy changes to aid family caregivers as they help their older loved ones remain at home. Most (87%) Puerto Rico registered voters age 45+ believe it is extremely or very important to provide short-term help to allow family caregivers to take a break from their caregiving duties.
The vast majority (92%) of Puerto Rico registered voters age 45+ supports a proposal to allow registered nurses with advanced training, who often visit older people in their homes, to serve as the primary or acute care provider of record for a patient. Nearly all Puerto Rico registered voters age 45+ strongly support proposals that would help family caregivers when their loved ones go into hospitals. More than nine in ten support requiring hospitals to explain and demonstrate medical tasks that family caregivers will need to perform after the patient returns home (97%), keep family caregivers informed of medical decisions regarding the patient (96%), and record the family caregiver’s information in the patient’s medical record (93%).
The 2014 AARP Survey of Puerto Rico Registered Voters Age 45+ on Caregiving was conducted through telephone interviews with a sample of 700 respondents ages 45 and older drawn from random digit dial (RDD) lists. The interviews were conducted in Spanish by Precision Opinion, Inc. from September 18th through October 5th, 2014. The results from the study were weighted by age and gender to reflect the Puerto Rico population of residents age 45 and older. For more information, contact Joanne Binette at jbinette@aarp.org.