As of 2020, 53 million adults in the U.S. are actively engaged in caregiving—supporting a rapidly growing population of older adults, according to researchers at Michigan State University.
Informal caregivers provide vital services that aid in helping older adults live longer at home, and help reduce healthcare costs that come with long-term formal healthcare services.
In short, informal caregivers play a crucial role in society, serving as the backbone for the older adult population. Yet, those caregivers need care themselves, as the toll of their role is taxing physically, financially, mentally and emotionally.
Informal caregiving is associated with depression, anxiety, psychological distress, and worse mental health, according to Jen Hirsch, doctoral student for MSU’s School of Social Work. These findings come from a study led by Hirsch that examines the caregiving effect: the impact of the act of providing care for someone who is ill.
This effect varies from the family effect, which is defined as the impact of caring about a loved one who is ill. Informal caregivers often experience both simultaneously, yet “the family effect happens whether or not you are engaged in caregiving tasks for a loved one,” said Hirsch.
Caregivers experience opportunity costs and trade-offs, as caregiving competes with leisure time, employment, and other household obligations, leading to reduced abilities to take care of their own needs and health, according to the research team.
The study found that caregivers who engage in 20 or more hours of caregiving per week were associated with poor mental health. They also found that caregiving in general was associated with poor mental health at some level for all caregivers—regardless of the time spent providing care.
High-intensity caregiving is not only associated with increased anxiety and depression but also decreases relationship quality with the care recipient, potentially impacting both the family and caregiving effects.
Hirsch and their team explore various methods for supporting caregivers. This study mainly focuses on policy and organizational level support, which target structures which aim at reducing the caregiving workload or competing demands. These include programs like workplace benefits and respite programs. Respite has been found to be an effective support for caregiver burden, well-being, and depression, and is a frequently offered support that has been identified by many caregivers as the most beneficial service, according to researchers.
Hirsch believes “the most efficient use of our funding to support caregivers would be to offer financial support like a stipend.” By providing financial support to caregivers, it gives them the option to purchase the support they need without being reliant on the social safety net of other programs. “Those with higher incomes typically have lower caregiving stress,” said Hirsch.
Despite informal caregivers being a well-researched population, the work that they do is often in isolation.
The current demographic is shifting, leading to fewer caregivers and more people who need care. The role of informal caregivers is becoming more critical than before, and finding ways to support them is equally important.
“Our health system relies on informal caregivers,” said Hirsch. “We couldn’t function without family and friends providing care for their loved ones.”