title: Getting help from others: the effects of demand and supply.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article investigates whether the help with care needs that is received from others depends on the potential supply of family helpers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from the first round of survey data collected in the National Health and Aging Trends Study are used to create measures of whether help is received, the number of helpers, and the hours of help received. Regression analysis is used to relate these outcomes to indicators of the demand for and supply of helpers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analyses suggest limited evidence that the receipt of help is a supply-driven phenomenon. Although the measures of child-caregiver supply are not associated with a binary indicator of help received, caregiver-supply factors are associated with the number of helpers and the total hours of help received.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings on the total number of helpers and total hours of care have implications for the division of care labor within families and between families and nonfamily members. Foreseeable trends in the demand for and the supply of help suggest further evolution in patterns of elders' receipt of help with care needs. Even if those with needs for care continue to have their needs addressed by one or more helpers, the number of helpers, and the aggregate amount of help they provide, is likely to undergo adjustment in response to changing family patterns.
authors.affiliation: Aging Studies Institute, Syracuse University, New York. dawolf@maxwell.syr.edu.
authors.forename: Douglas A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006701:Home Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: Disability; Division of care labor; Family composition; Informal care.