Social and Community Context: Family Caregivers

According to the Association for Community Living, at least 53 million people (about twice the population of Texas) were providing informal, usually unpaid, care and support to aging family members and people of all ages with disabilities (including mental health conditions). At the same time, at least 2.7 million grandparents—and an unknown number of other relative caregivers—carried the primary responsibility for caring for grandchildren whose parents were unable to do so.

These numbers are increasing rapidly due to growing populations of older adults and people with disabilities; the long-standing shortage of direct care workers, which has reached crisis proportions during the pandemic; the continuing opioid crisis and other issues that are creating thousands of new ‘grandfamilies’ each year, and a variety of other factors.

When family caregivers do not have training, support, and opportunities for rest and self-care, their own health, well-being, and quality of life suffer. Their financial future can also be put at risk—lost income due to family caregiving is estimated to be a staggering $522 billion each year.

As we wrap up our roundtable series, we will consider the critical role of family caregivers and ways health care partners can strengthen and support this invaluable group

Learning Objectives

After completing this training, attendees will:

• Summarize the lived experiences of family caregivers
• Describe current efforts to support family caregivers
• List resources available to meet the unique needs of family caregivers