A Perspective on Making “Invisible” Care Visible Through Time Use Data

With an aging population and projected increases in the number of older adults in need of care, especially those with chronic and progressive disease like dementia, family care is at the forefront of pressing social issues in the U.S. and worldwide. Time use data, including 24-hour time diaries (TD), daily diaries (DD), and ecological momentary assessments (EMA), may be especially helpful for shedding light on the often "invisible" care being given by American families caring for older adults. This review presents U.S. datasets that have TD, DD, or EMA available and proposes areas of future research including charting care and the impact on well-being, as well as expanding data collections.