Older adults residing in rural areas are more likely to receive any family care than those in urban areas. From 2004 to 2016, a higher proportion of older adults in rural areas receive care from family caregivers exclusively while a lower proportion receive care from formal caregivers exclusively. When examining older adults in urban areas, we find the opposite — a higher proportion of urban adults rely exclusively on formal care and a lower proportion rely exclusively on family care in 2016 compared to 2004.
Miller, K. E. M., Ornstein, K. A., & Coe, N. B. (2023). Rural disparities in use of family and formal caregiving for older adults with disabilities. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society., 71(9), 2865–2870. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.18376