Improving support for America’s hidden heroes: A research blueprint

There have been several recent additions to the scholarly literature concerning caregivers’ mental, physical, occupational, and financial hardships—that is, the burden that informal caregivers face; however, recognizing the adversity addresses only one aspect of the research needed to better support this population.

This study canvasses the research landscape on caregivers to identify strategic research needs for future investment. To achieve this objective, our RAND research team inventoried the currently available research on caregiving for disabled adults, children, and the elderly and gathered stakeholder input by conducting a survey and facilitating an online panel to allow a diverse set of stakeholders to voice their views on crucial topics for research. Based on a synthesis of this information, we devised a blueprint for future military and veteran caregiver research. The findings from this study will be of interest to researchers, stakeholders, and funders moving forward for future investment and collaboration in military and veteran caregiver research.

This report was sponsored by the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, and the research was conducted in RAND Health, a division of the RAND Corporation.