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Number of deaths to melanoma (in 2004): 7,952
More than 50 million Americans care for a chronically ill, aged or disabled loved one, according to the National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA). But family members can't always be there for senior parents and relatives. To serve the need, Home Instead Senior Care in 1994 became one of the first private firms to offer home-based eldercare.
Today, Home Instead Senior Care is one of the world's most trusted non-medical sources of companionship and home care for seniors, with more than 700 franchises in the United States, Canada, Japan, Portugal, Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain, New Zealand and Taiwan.
Like many multinational companies, Home Instead turns to research to inform its business and marketing decisions. But last year Home Instead realized that fewer meaningful and actionable insights came from this research.
The company hired us to dig deeper into a national consumer study it had completed. The goal had been to use the study to generate interesting facts in upcoming news releases. The company had the findings, but no one was sure what was important, or why, or what to do next.
We pored through the data using our Boomer Project lens. The study was loaded with fascinating facts, for sure, but we found something far more important. We uncovered that one of the keys to engaging eldercare services was helping adult children and their aging parents navigate difficult relationships. The conversation changes when the two generations communicate as equals, not as parent/child. Once they cross that bridge, the odds improve dramatically that they can successfully plan for and manage their eldercare.
We suggested that Home Instead build its PR program around a concept we named the "40-70 Rule." Once an adult child reaches the age of 40 and/or their parent reaches the age of 70, then it is time they talk about long-term care and other aging issues as equals. We urged Home Instead to hire experts to write conversation starters to facilitate discussions. The goal of the PR effort, we recommended, should be to encourage both the adult child and the parent to engage in the conversation, using age, not the parrent's current health status, as the instigator.
This consumer-focused initiative, just underway, should effectively position Home Instead as the preferred provider of in-home services. You can learn more about it at the new Home Instead Web site, www.4070talk.com.
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