Capturing the Emerging Caregiver's Market

by Jack Evans

The 54 million caregivers in this country represent the new consumer market in home health care. According to the National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA), Kensington, MD, 89 percent of initial inquiries regarding purchasing home health care products and services are made by the family caregiver instead of by the patient. Yet only 5 percent of these caregivers find out about these products and services from home healthcare providers!

According to a recent NFCA survey, one of the ways HHC provider can be helpful is to inform caregivers about the products and services that can make our lives and our loved ones lives easier and better," says Suzanne Mintz, NCFA's co-founder. "There are literally thousands of products we might want to buy if we only knew they existed. Some of them might make a tremendous difference in our quality of life and the ability of our loved ones to be more independent. And HHC providers are the professionals who know the most about these products, so they are the logical people to educate us."

Identifying Caregivers

The first step for HHC providers is to learn how to identify, qualify and then meet the needs of caregivers. According to initial NCFA surveys over the past several years, 72 percent of caregivers were women with an average age of 46 who assisted their mothers, friends or neighbors. However, this year a new survey sponsored by CareThere.com has found that more men are now involved in caregiving. Today, 56 percent are female and 44% are male.

Over half of caregivers in this survey reported that they provide physical care such as personal assistance with dressing, bathing, toileting ,eating and mobility. Approximately 45 percent also perform nursing activities such as managing medications, changing dressings and monitoring vital signs. Two-thirds of these caregivers also receive help from a family member, and one third care for two or more elderly relatives or friends.

The National Report on the Status of Caregiving in America from NCFA reports other caregiver demographics:

• 54 percent are between 35 and 64 years old.
• Approximately 50% are employed full-time.
• More than 75% have children under 18 living at home.
• Approximately 75% are married, with almost half caring for their spouses.
• They have been providing care for 5 to 10 years and expect to continue for another 15 years.

Caregivers spend approximately $2 billion a month of their own money on groceries, medicine and other costs related to caregiving. The NCFA study determined that 75 percent spend between $100 and $500 cash every year on HME supplies and services, while 25 percent spend between $500 and $1,000 per year and 1 percent spend more than $1,000.

How important are HHC products and services to caregivers? NCFA documents that 90 percent of their care recipients use HHC products and services. Plus, of the 10 percent currently not using them, almost 90% percent expect to in the near future.

Meeting Caregiver's Needs

Caregivers are seeking normalcy and ways to minimize the hassle and stress in their lives. They need information about products, high quality customer service, good pricing and convenient locations. And in numerous annual surveys, they have expressed definite views about the quality of service they expect from HHC providers.

Their first priority is reliability and availability. They are seeking hassle-free, customer-friendly environments because frustration is their most frequently-experienced emotion in their daily lives. The last thing they need is additional problems from a HHC provider!

The second most important criteria for caregivers is price, because they are constantly coping with the high cost of caring for someone with a chronic condition. Several other important factors were mentioned. Convenient locations close to home are preferred - instead of driving far distances to industrial parks when many older HHC providers are still located. Expert technical and delivery personnel are a must, because they know what they are doing and are sensitive to the needs of caregivers. Knowledgeable sales personal are also invaluable, especially when they offer a wide selection of home health care products.

The products most needed and bought by caregivers include:

Incontinence and Ostomy (51%)

• Reusable and disposable systems
• Skin care
• In-stock ostomy supplies
• Personal care items such as urinals, bedpans, sitz baths, bidet inserts and wipes.

Aids to Daily Living (45%)

• Eating aids
• Dressing aids
• Reachers and grabbers
• Arthritis aids
• Low sight and hearing devices.

Bath Safety (35%)

• Bath chairs and benches
• Elevated toilet seats
• Transfer benches
• Hand-held showers
• Grab bars

Twenty percent of caregivers also need home modifications. They need the expert advice of HHC providers to evaluate their homes and then recommend related HHC products. These include:

Marketing to Caregivers

Caregivers represent a tremendous market opportunity for HHC providers. Currently, 25 percent of all American households are involved in family caregiving. This number is projected to grow to 80 million by the year 2050.
"But home healthcare providers are losing out on sales by not telling us about products and services that are available," notes Mintz. "Caregivers want and need information, and this can be a win/win situation for everybody."

Currently, caregivers are often at a loss as to where to turn for support or help. According to the NFCA survey, 37 percent learn about new products from magazine ads, 32% learn about them from professionals such as nurses, PT's and OT's, and 13% gain this helpful information from other caregivers. Very few are involved with support groups. Only one-third of the HME providers really meet or exceed their expectations, while 53 percent satisfy their needs and 14 percent leave them disappointed or very unsatisfied.

Home health care providers can boost their image and support of caregivers by meeting a number of their needs: information, complete category/product selection, knowledgeable sales staff, fair pricing and offering a destination with staff who care to listen and help. "This can be a win-win situation for everybody," says Mintz.

How can HHC providers better work with family caregivers?

• Mail informative brochures and product literature on a regular basis to become an important source of HHC information;
• Spend time with caregivers when they are in your businesses to learn about their respective needs and concerns in caring for a loved one;
• Sponsor local support groups to help bring together the caregivers in a community and immediately earn their respect and business; and
• Join your local caregiver's support group to network with them and work toward a mutual goal of improving the quality of lives for everyone involved.

For further information on caregivers contact the National Family Caregivers Association at 800 896-3650 or www.nfcacares.org

Jack Evans
www.retailhhc.com

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