Compassion in Crisis

One in five adults care for loved ones with a chronic condition. The need to provide day-to-day care for friends and family often arrives without any formal medical training. Many families have no choice but to take on the burden of caregiving at home due to the cost of or lack of access to in-home nurses and long-term care.

Caregivers become health care providers, personal care assistants, medication managers, cooks, housekeepers, chauffeurs, and companions. They sacrifice their own needs to support their loved ones. Many caregivers experience mental and physical exhaustion, also known as burnout. Caregivers are overworked and don’t get the rest and resources they need.

Greta Kilmer and collaborators evaluated health outcomes among caregivers. They judged caregiver health based on three factors: having multiple chronic conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes; lacking health coverage; and not being able to see a doctor due to cost.

The researchers used the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to compare these health struggles between 92,461 caregivers and 353,242 non-caregivers during 2020 and 2021.

As shown in the graph, caregivers (shown in blue) reported having multiple chronic conditions more often than non-caregivers (shown in red). Additionally, many caregivers could not afford to see a doctor. Caregivers and non-caregivers had similar access to health insurance, likely due to the recent expansion in Medicaid eligibility.

Affordable and accessible options for long-term care, including inpatient and at-home care, could reduce the undue burden of caregiving that harms our loved ones. In the meantime, the authors suggest establishing community-led support groups and care coordination to alleviate caregiver stress.