A new University of Minnesota study shows working caregivers are facing multiple challenges, especially in rural Minnesota. Study spokeswoman Carrie Henning-Smith says as the state’s population ages care needs are increasing. She says the challenge of caring for a loved one and balancing work is an on-going struggle for many. Henning-Smith says workers in the rural areas don’t have the same access to workplace support services as in the urban areas

Other roadblocks: less than 10-percent of rural caregivers are able to work from home compared to 25-percent of urban caregivers. And only 18-percent of rural caregivers have access to paid leave, compared with 34-percent in the urban caregivers.