The US population is aging rapidly, with the number of adults ages 65 and older projected to increase from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050. As the population grows older, demand for assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) will continue to rise, particularly among older adults living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Because spouses provide much of this care, older adults who do not live with a spouse may be especially vulnerable to unmet caregiving needs, a challenge that was likely intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic as shelter-in-place policies disrupted both formal services and informal caregiving networks.

This article examines how caregiving changed during the COVID-19 pandemic among unmarried adults ages 65 and older with daily living needs, with particular attention to differences by dementia status, functional limitations, and the intensity of state shelter-in-place policies.