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Social Care Services Evidence Summary: Caregiver Support Services

This evidence summary includes a broad range of research/resources on caregiver support services and is primarily focused on 

health care impact. It is not intended to be an exhaustive compilation of research/resources on this topic. The information 

presented in this summary can inform the value proposition of partnering with a community-based organization (CBO) or a network 

of CBOs to offer these services and supports as part of a strategy to address social determinants of health (SDOH).

Caregiver support services can improve outcomes for caregivers and those they are supporting (Fuller-Tyszkiewicz et al., 2020; 

Avison et al., 2018; Martindale-Adams et al., 2017; Chen, Hendrick & Young, 2010; Coleman et al., 2004). Well-designed caregiver 

supports can mitigate caregiver burden by offering caregivers emotional, financial, or educational support to enable them to better 

care for the individual they are supporting. Providing these supports is important, as research indicates that family members with 

greater unmet support needs, particularly unpaid caregivers, report increased caregiving burden and decreased satisfaction and selfefficacy (Crabb et al., 2020). Furthermore, evidence suggests that caregivers who utilize respite services spend more total hours 

caregiving, indicating respite services may support caregiver retention (Chen, Hendrick and Young (2010).

For specific, further detailed information on this evidence, please review the resources listed below.

Caregiver Supports Research and Evidence

Study Population Studied Objective of Study Type of Analysis Findings / Results

Avison et al.

(2018)

1,568 caregivers who 

did and did not 

participate in the 

National Family 

Caregiver Support 

Program (NFCSP)

To evaluate the 

NFSCP’s design and 

operation at the state, 

local, and provider 

levels, and to assess its 

impacts on the family 

caregivers it serves.

Observational 

survey, statistical 

analysis 

(difference-indifferences

analyses)

Key among the evaluation’s findings are 

that education and training services can 

lead to greater caregiver confidence 

over time. Additionally, the evaluation 

demonstrates that caregivers’ use of 

the services helped them continue in 

their role for longer periods.

Chen et al.

(2010)

A sample of 164 

caregivers who were 

reported as having 

To evaluate a federal 

and state-funded 

Family Caregiver 

Observational 

survey, statistical 

Using consulting and education services 

is associated with reduced subjective 

burden; using financial support services 
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Study Population Studied Objective of Study Type of Analysis Findings / Results

received services 

from local Aging and 

Disability Services 

agencies

Support Program 

(FCSP) and explore 

what types of 

caregiver support 

service are associated 

with what caregiver 

outcomes.

analysis 

(MANCOVA)

is associated with more beneficial 

caregiver appraisal, such as better 

caregiver mastery.

Coleman et 

al. (2004)

158 Communitydwelling adults and a 

matching control 

group of 1,235 

people from 

administrative data; 

both groups were

aged 65 and older 

admitted to the 

study hospital in 

Colorado with one of 

nine selected 

conditions

hospitalized between 

July 1, 2001, and 

September 1, 2002, 

and enrolled in the 

participating health 

system as of July 1, 

2001.

To test whether an 

intervention designed 

to encourage older 

patients and their 

caregivers to assert a 

more active role 

during care transitions 

can reduce 

rehospitalization rates.

Quasi-experimental 

design and 

retrospective study 

in which

participants 

receiving the 

intervention were 

compared with 

non-participating 

individuals derived 

from administrative 

data using 

descriptive 

statistics 

Supporting individuals and caregivers to 

take a more active role during care 

transitions appears promising for 

reducing rates of subsequent 

hospitalization.

Crabb et al.

(2020)

182 Illinois Medicaid 

managed care 

enrollees with 

To longitudinally 

examine the impact of 

public family support 

Observational

survey, statistical 

analysis (ordinary 

Family members with more unmet 

family support needs had increased 

caregiving burden and decreased 
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Study Population Studied Objective of Study Type of Analysis Findings / Results

disabilities and their 

family members

on appraisals of 

caregiving burden, 

satisfaction, and selfefficacy among 

families of adults with 

disabilities.

least squares 

regressions) 

satisfaction and self-efficacy. Family 

members providing more unpaid care 

reported higher burden. Black family 

members had significantly lower 

burden, and parents had significantly 

lower satisfaction and self-efficacy. 

Family members of enrollees with 

intellectual and developmental 

disabilities (I/DD) had higher

self-efficacy.

EpsteinLubow et al.

(2014)

A convenience 

sample of 2,747 feefor-service Medicare 

patients was 

recruited for the 

Care Transitions 

Intervention (CTI)

during inpatient 

medical 

hospitalizations at 6 

hospitals in Rhode 

Island between 

January 1, 2009 and 

June 31, 2011.

To evaluate the 

association between 

family caregiver 

presence and patient 

completion of the CTI, 

a patient activation 

model that provides 

transitional care 

coaching for 30 days 

following hospital 

discharge.

Observational 

review of 

individuals 

participating in a 

CTI program, 

statistical analysis 

(between-group 

differences 

assessed using a χ2

test for categorical 

variables and a ttest for continuous 

variables)

Patients with family caregivers were 

more than 5 times as likely to complete 

the intervention as patients without 

family caregivers. Men with family 

caregivers were nearly 8 times as likely 

to complete the intervention as men 

without family caregivers. 

FullerTyszkiewicz et 

al. (2020)

183 Caregivers 

recruited to 

participate in an appbased intervention

To evaluate the 

effectiveness of a selfguided mobile app–

based psychological 

intervention for 

people providing care 

Experimental, 

statistical analysis 

(Intention-to-treat 

(ITT) analysis)

The intervention group experienced 

reductions in stress and depressive 

symptoms from baseline to 

postintervention. The intervention 

group reported lower levels of 

depression and higher levels of 
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Study Population Studied Objective of Study Type of Analysis Findings / Results

to family or friends 

with a physical or 

mental disability.

emotional well-being, optimism, selfesteem, support from family, support 

from significant others, and subjective 

well-being.

MartindaleAdams et al. 

(2017)

Caregiving dyads 

from a federal or 

Tribal health care 

program serving one 

of the 546 federally 

recognized Tribes, an 

Urban Indian Health 

program, or 

awardees of the 

Administration for 

Community Living 

(ACL)/Administration 

on Aging (AoA)

Native American 

Caregiver Support 

Program (NACSP)

To share Resources for 

Enhancing Alzheimer's 

Caregivers Health

(REACH), a successful 

caregiving program 

across federal and 

local agencies.

Observational 

review of program 

implementation, 

qualitative 

interviews and 

descriptive

statistics

The evidence-based REACH 

intervention has been shown to 

improve dementia caregivers’ 

emotional and physical well-being and 

their management of their loved one’s 

difficult behaviors.
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Additional Resources

Resource Author Description of Content Target Audience

Owen et al. (2020) The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of familyinformed care on the unmet needs of Medicaid enrollees who 

required medical services and long-term services and supports 

(LTSS). The study also examined family members’ appraisal of the 

services received by those enrollees within a Medicaid managed 

care program in one Midwestern state. Seven hundred Medicaid 

enrollees who received the support of a family member 

participated in the survey. Researchers found that family 

members who reported higher levels of the family-informed care 

had higher appraisals of the services received by enrollees and 

those enrollees reported fewer unmet medical and LTSS needs.

States, CBOs, health care 

providers

Wang et al. (2020) To identify factors associated with the caregiving appraisal of 

informal caregivers, 40 cross‐sectional and cohort studies papers 

published from 1984 to December 2018 were systematically 

reviewed. Keywords related to informal caregivers' caregiving 

appraisal were used. The review revealed that there are 

inconsistencies in the understanding of caregiving appraisal, and 

consensus is needed for conceptual clarity. Caregiving appraisal is 

associated with individual level, interpersonal level, community 

level factors.

States, CBOS, researchers