In addition to caregivers having to shoulder the work load of the growing senior population, they are also naturally more engaged in caring for aging parents than health providers for most time their parents face the challenges of aging.  

If you create a "smoothed" picture of the health challenges faced by older adults, you get a continuum like the one shown below.

Caregiving Continuum

Each of the "humps" corresponds to major health incidents or living circumstance changes.  In the early part of the continuum, the senior is aging at home and later may require assistive care at a retirement, assisted living, or long term care community.

The health care providers only intersect with the caregiving need at the green arrows for acute or assistive care.  The vast majority of the continuum is addressed by family caregivers who are typically not trained health professionals.  These caregivers need support tools and services to provide the best quality of life for their parents and themselves.