Many wounded, ill, and injured U.S. military service members and veterans receive care and support from family members, friends, or acquaintances. The efforts of these military caregivers help those they care for live better-quality lives and can accelerate and improve their recovery and rehabilitation. But the toll on their own well-being can be high.

With little known about America’s military caregivers, RAND researchers set out to better understand how many military caregivers there are, their characteristics, the effect of caregiving on their own well-being, and how current supports designed to help caregivers are—and are not—meeting their needs.

Key Findings

  • There are 5.5 million military caregivers in the United States, 1.1 million of whom are caring for military veterans who served after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
  • Military caregivers perform a wide variety of tasks—from dressing and bathing their loved ones to helping them cope with emotional difficulties.
  • Military caregivers helping veterans from earlier eras tend to resemble civilian caregivers in many ways.
  • All caregivers are adversely affected by their duties. These effects include an increased likelihood of depression and other negative health outcomes; low productivity and problems at work; relationship distress; and increased financial difficulty.
  • Post-9/11 caregivers differ from both civilian caregivers and earlier-era military caregivers. And they face even more acute challenges:
    • Post-9/11 caregivers tend to be younger and juggle work with caregiving duties. Most have no support network.
    • They are four times more likely than non-caregivers to be depressed.
    • One-third of post-9/11 caregivers are without health insurance.
    • They typically help their loved ones cope with stressful situations or other emotional and behavioral challenges.
  • Existing programs offer training and support for military caregivers, but do not target their specific needs.
    There is an overall lack of respite care programs, which provide caregivers temporary relief from their duties.

Recommendations

  • Empower caregivers with education, health coverage, and greater public awareness of their contributions.
  • Create caregiver-friendly environments, particularly among health care providers and employers.
  • Fill gaps in existing programs and services by extending eligibility and increasing availability of respite care, which directly reduces time spent caregiving.
  • Plan for the future to account for the evolving nature of current caregivers' needs, as well as for those of future caregivers.

Read the full article about military caregivers Need at RAND Corporation.