In 2024, RAND published America's Military and Veteran Caregivers: Hidden Heroes Emerging from the Shadows. 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. In this related report, the authors provide estimates specific to those providing care to service members and veterans who served in the U.S. military after September 11, 2001.

America's Post-9/11 Military and Veteran Caregivers

Michael W. Robbins, Rajeev Ramchand, Gretchen Swabe, Kelly Hyde

ResearchPublished Sep 24, 2024

In 2024, RAND published America's Military and Veteran Caregivers: Hidden Heroes Emerging from the Shadows. The authors of that report presented data from the 2023 RAND Caregiving Survey; produced new estimates of the number of adults caregiving in the United States today; investigated how those caring for wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans compare with those caring for civilians and with non-caregivers; and shared insights on the potential impacts of caregiving on caregivers' health, their economic security, and their families' well-being. In this related report, the authors provide estimates specific to caregivers providing care to service members and veterans who served in the U.S. military after September 11, 2001. To produce valid and more-precise estimates for this population, the authors employed a statistical technique blending data from the probability-based 2023 RAND Caregiving Survey with two convenience samples of caregivers.

Key Findings

  • Among the 14.3 million military/veteran caregivers in the United States, 1.5 million (10.3 percent) are providing care to veterans or service members who served after September 11, 2001.
  • Just over one-third of post-9/11 caregivers are the care recipients' spouses or partners; the next largest group is siblings, in-laws, or other relatives, who comprise approximately 29 percent of post-9/11 caregivers. Friends and neighbors comprise 18 percent.
  • The most common diagnosis among post-9/11 care recipients was a mental health condition, reported by 68 percent of caregivers. Seventy-nine percent of caregivers caring for someone with a mental health condition attributed it to military service.
  • Sixty percent of post-9/11 caregivers assist with at least one activity of daily living (ADL), and another one-third do not help with an ADL but assist with emotional or cognitive tasks. The remainder (less than 10 percent) help administer medications, help with housework, or provide administrative support.
  • Approximately 60 percent of post-9/11 caregivers meet criteria for excessive burden, 84 percent meet criteria for high levels of perceived stress, one-third meet probable criteria for depression, and one in ten had thoughts of suicide in the past year.
  • Thirty-six percent of post-9/11 caregivers have an income that is below 130 percent of the federal poverty level. Sixty percent reported having difficulty paying bills; over half reported having no rainy-day funds. Forty-four percent reported not having health insurance.
  • Thirty-one percent of post-9/11 caregivers said that it would be difficult obtaining support to take a break from caregiving. Forty-five percent are sole caregivers.

Recommendations

  • Increase access to mental health and substance use treatment for caregivers and their children.
  • Increase opportunities for caregivers to access available financial support, and offer additional financial compensation to caregivers for the work they perform.
  • Tailor caregiver support programs to reflect caregivers' diverse preferences and needs.
  • Expand and promote home health care considering how caregivers will be affected.
  • Focus programmatic and social support within the context of local conditions in which military/veteran caregivers live.
  • Encourage health care systems to better integrate caregivers into health care teams.
  • Promote work environments that are supportive of caregivers.
  • Continue to conduct rigorous evaluations of those initiatives designed to support military and veteran caregivers.
  • Continue to conduct research that fully captures the breadth of caregiving and those who serve as caregivers.

Topics

Document Details

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Robbins, Michael W., Rajeev Ramchand, Gretchen Swabe, and Kelly Hyde, America's Post-9/11 Military and Veteran Caregivers, RAND Corporation, RR-A3212-4, 2024. As of October 13, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3212-4.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Robbins, Michael W., Rajeev Ramchand, Gretchen Swabe, and Kelly Hyde, America's Post-9/11 Military and Veteran Caregivers. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2024. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3212-4.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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