America's Military and Veteran Caregivers

Hidden Heroes Emerging from the Shadows — Summary

Rajeev Ramchand, Sarah Dalton, Tamara Dubowitz, Kelly Hyde, Nipher Malika, Andrew R. Morral, Elie Ohana, Vanessa Parks, Terry L. Schell, Gretchen Swabe, et al.

ResearchPublished Sep 24, 2024

This summary presents the key findings and recommendations from a report that contains new estimates of the number of adults caregiving in the United States. The authors investigated how those caring for wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans compare with those caring for civilians and with non-caregivers and share insights on the potential consequences of caregiving on caregivers' health, their economic security, and their families' well-being.

There are 14.3 million military and veteran caregivers, representing 5.5 percent of the U.S. adult population. There are an additional 91.3 million civilian caregivers (35.0 percent of U.S. adults) caring for wounded, ill, or injured civilian adults.

Across all caregivers, most (78 to 81 percent) spend between one and 30 hours per week providing care. Under 10 percent spend less than one hour per week, and 11 to 16 percent spend 31 hours or more per week caregiving.

The estimated aggregate economic value generated by military/veteran caregiving activities, which are largely uncompensated, ranges from $119 billion to $485 billion per year. Military/veteran caregivers incur an estimated $8,583 in annual out-of-pocket costs associated with their caregiving responsibilities. Military/veteran caregivers forgo an estimated $4,522 in annual household income.

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Ramchand, Rajeev, Sarah Dalton, Tamara Dubowitz, Kelly Hyde, Nipher Malika, Andrew R. Morral, Elie Ohana, Vanessa Parks, Terry L. Schell, Gretchen Swabe, Thomas E. Trail, and Kayla M. Williams, America's Military and Veteran Caregivers: Hidden Heroes Emerging from the Shadows — Summary, RAND Corporation, RR-A3212-2, 2024. As of October 13, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3212-2.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Ramchand, Rajeev, Sarah Dalton, Tamara Dubowitz, Kelly Hyde, Nipher Malika, Andrew R. Morral, Elie Ohana, Vanessa Parks, Terry L. Schell, Gretchen Swabe, Thomas E. Trail, and Kayla M. Williams, America's Military and Veteran Caregivers: Hidden Heroes Emerging from the Shadows — Summary. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2024. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3212-2.html.
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The research described in this report was funded by the Elizabeth Dole Foundation and conducted by the Social and Behavioral Policy Program within RAND Social and Economic Well-Being and the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute within RAND Education and Labor.

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