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ABOUT CAREGIVERS

• Increasingly, America is becoming a

nation of caregivers. According to a 

2015 report from AARP, an estimated 

43.5 million adults in the United States 

provided unpaid care to an adult or a child 

in the prior 12 months

• Whether supervising a spouse to help

keep him or her from wandering, assisting 

with activities of daily living, helping to 

develop and implement treatment plans, 

or managing a loved one’s behavioral 

symptoms, caregivers face multiple 

demands on their time and emotional and 

physical energy, and as a result may be at 

risk for becoming anxious, depressed, or 

susceptible to chronic illness themselves.

• In 2010, legislation authorized VA to

establish a wide range of new services 

to support certain caregivers of eligible 

Veterans who served after Sept. 11, 2001. 

These caregivers are now entitled to 

access to a toll-free caregiver support line 

(1-855-260-3274), expanded education 

and training on caring for Veterans at 

home, and other support services such as 

counseling and support groups.

• VA facilities also offer programs including

in-home care; specialized education and 

training; respite care; equipment, home, 

and automobile modification; and financial 

assistance for eligible Veterans. Every VA 

medical center has a caregiver support 

coordinator to help link up caregivers and 

Veterans with available VA and non-VA 

support resources.

VA RESEARCH ON C AREGIVERS: 

OVERVIEW

• VA experts are developing and refining

questionnaires and survey tools, as well as 

cross-cutting strategies that can be used 

to implement and test programs across a 

wide variety of caregiving situations. 

• Several VA studies are looking at the

impact of caregiver education and stressreduction programs on the health and 

wellness of both the Veteran and the 

caregiver. Other studies are focusing on 

both the short-and long-term needs of 

caregivers, as many of these individuals 

will be providing care for years or even 

decades.

• VA investigators are continuing to

improve their understanding of the 

care caregivers provide and the support 

they need. They also are learning how 

caregiving has affected the caregiver, the 

Veteran receiving care, and the Veteran’s 

entire family

SELECTED MILESTONES AND 

MA JOR EVENTS 

2007 – Introduced the Resources for 

Enhancing Alzheimer’s Caregiver Health

(REACH VA) program to reduce stress on 

caregivers for Veterans with Alzheimer’s 

disease 

2009 – Developed the VA Family Care 

map, to ensure family members are fully 

involved in the care of Veterans with 

polytrauma

2010 – Completed VA’s Family and 

Caregiver Experience (FACES) study, which 

provided significant information on who 

provides care to seriously injured Veterans, 

what kinds of services and support they 

provide, and what help they need

2013 – Determined that in families using 

a VA-developed home safety toolkit, there 

was less caregiver strain, better home 

safety, and fewer accidents and risky 

behaviors among those with Alzheimer’s

2015 – Found that the blame and anger 

associated with the grief of caring for a 

loved one with a traumatic brain injury 

(TBI) may be related to inflammation and 

certain chronic diseases including heart 

disease, cancer, and diabetes

VA research on 

CAREGIVERS

Providing quality care to America’s Veterans doesn’t end 

with the Veteran himself or herself. It extends to the family 

member or loved one who tends to the everyday needs of 

a disabled, chronically ill, or aging Veteran: the caregiver.

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VA experts are developing 

and evaluating programs and 

interventions across a wide 

range of caregiving situations. 

RECENT STUDIES: SELECTED 

HIGHLIGHTS

• According to VA’s FACES study, 79 

percent of caregivers for Veterans 

with multiple injuries (polytraumas) 

are women, usually the Veteran’s 

parent or spouse. Even as long as four 

years after their injury, 22 percent of 

Veterans with polytraumas supported 

by caregivers still need help with 

basic activities and daily living such 

as bathing, feeding, and toileting. An 

additional 48 percent need help with 

tasks such as shopping, driving, and 

money management, according to 

Minneapolis VA researchers. (Family and 

Caregiver Experience Study)

• Financial strain is common for 

caregivers. Among caregivers of 

Veterans with polytrauma, 62 percent 

reported to Minneapolis VA researchers 

that their assets had been depleted and 

41 percent reported having to leave 

the labor force. These figures are much 

higher than those for other caregivers 

internationally. (Journal of Head Trauma 

Rehabilitation, January-February 2012)

• A safety toolkit that provides 

research-based recommendations 

for home safety has been created by 

researchers at the Bedford, Mass., VA 

hospital and Boston University. Families 

who used the 25-page, illustrated, 

simple-language guide to help them 

care for Veterans with Alzheimer’s 

disease had less caregiver strain, better 

home safety, and fewer accidents 

and risky behaviors than families 

whose loved one received usual care. 

(International Journal of Alzheimer’s 

Disease, 2013)

• Caregivers who have not been 

trained on how to navigate health 

care systems have higher levels of 

depression, feel more burdened by 

their responsibilities, and have lower 

self-esteem than those who had been 

trained in this skill. Researchers at the 

Richmond and Minneapolis VA Medical 

Centers also found caregivers who had 

not been trained in how to support the 

emotions of their care recipients now 

have higher levels of anxiety, depression, 

and care burden, and lower self-esteem 

than those who received such training. 

(Behavioral Neurology, 2015)

• Systematized feedback to 

caregivers could alleviate their 

burden and help them avoid burnout 

and mental health concerns. In 

a study by researchers from the 

Ann Arbor VA and the University of 

Michigan involving 369 Veterans with 

heart failure, those caregivers who 

received feedback about their loved 

one reported less caregiver strain 

and depression than in the control 

group. They also reported they had 

spent more time with their patients, 

including greater attendance at doctors’ 

appointments; increased involvement 

in patient medication adherence; and 

more time spent in supportive care. 

(Medical Care, August 2015)

• Blame and anger associated 

with the grief of caring for a loved 

one with a TBI may be related to 

inflammation and certain chronic 

diseases, including heart disease, 

cancer, and diabetes. A study by 

researchers at the Hines, Ill., VA hospital 

and Loyola University of Chicago found 

these caregivers collectively reported 

levels of grief comparable to that of 

individuals who have lost a loved one. 

Inflammatory-related health issues may 

be an important indicator of which 

caregivers may be at risk for developing 

chronic problems such as heart disease. 

(Biological Research for Nursing, January 

2016)

For more information on VA studies 

on caregivers and other key topics 

relating to Veterans’ health, please 

visit www.research.va.gov/topics

CAREGIVERS

Updated September 2016 • For a digital version of this fact sheet with active links to sources, visit www.research.va.gov/topics