More than half of adults between the ages of 50 and 84 years have helped care for an older adult in the past two years, with the majority unpaid, according to the latest AARP and University of Michigan’s National Poll on Health Aging series.

The study consisted of phone surveys of more than 2,100 adults between the ages of 50 and 80 years. It found that helping with medical appointments was caregivers’ most common task (33 percent), followed by doing home maintenance (32 percent) and helping with shopping or meal preparation (31 percent).

Nearly all caregivers (96 percent) had at least one positive thing to say about their caregiving experience—that it makes them feel appreciated (52 percent) or gives them a sense of purpose (45 percent). But 65 percent reported at least one challenge associated with caregiving, like emotional and physical fatigue (34 percent) and difficulty balancing work or other responsibilities (31 percent). The vast majority of caregivers (72 percent) did not live with the person they were helping, making commuting a factor.

Research suggests family caregivers perform 34 billion hours of unpaid work each year, often while juggling work obligations. Eight in 10 caregivers say they have out-of-pocket expenses related to caregiving, which average more than $7,000 annually. 

Read the AARP article here, or download the survey here.