Ward D
School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle.
Second Opin. 1993 Oct;19(2):11-25.
In the U.S., care for chronically dependent people is done mostly by family and friends, with only sporadic community support. Though such unpaid caregiving work--the bulk of it performed by women--constitutes an enormous subsidy to the national welfare, the contribution is undervalued, and the negative practical consequences for caregivers seldom recognized.
