The Challenges of Caregiving: Isn't It Time We Stopped Just Admiring the Problem?
In a commentary published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, researchers argue that family caregiving in the U.S. has become a health care crisis: over 63 million caregivers contribute more than $1 trillion in care, yet face systemic roadblocks to support and experience high rates of depression, anxiety, and physical health decline. The authors note that caregiver distress also has downstream consequences for patients, including lower medication adherence, greater symptom burden, prolonged hospital stays, and increased risk of readmission. They call on palliative care programs—few of which have formal caregiver support programs beyond bereavement—to formally document caregivers in medical records, implement systematic distress screening, and provide evidence-based caregiver support, noting that palliative care has a dual responsibility to promote the health of both patients and their caregivers.
CAPC's Caregiver Support Program Implementation toolkit provides resources to help hospitals and other health care organizations design, launch, and grow sustainable caregiver support programs.