Caregivers
Jen Hand
Between 2015 and 2025 the number of caregivers helping older adults in the United States jumped from 39.8 million to 59 million. Currently about 1 in 4 U.S. adults—over 63 million people—make up the numbers of largely unpaid family caregivers who may assist a chronically ill or disabled partner or child, an aging parent, or other relative.
Caregivers can be responsible for everything from medication and physical needs, to bathing and dressing, to meal preparation, to transportation. A CDC report from 2024 pointed out that rates of mental distress, depression, obesity, arthritis, and asthma are higher among those who provide support to someone with a chronic health condition or disability.
An article published June 20, 2025, in JAMA focuses on a burgeoning movement that aims to care for caregivers. The author interviewed several industry experts including nonpro t leaders, medical and academic professionals, and social workers who collectively agreed that a proactive and joint response is required to aid those who may be mentally, physically, or otherwise overwhelmed by caregiving responsibilities.
The evolution of caregiving
Financial impacts, the extensive time requirements, more involved care due to complex diagnoses, and the emotional drain of being pulled in multiple directions at once are some of the stressors that can contribute to caregiver burden, wrote the article’s author in conversation with professionals and via reports from the AARP and Alzheimer’s Association.
As an ambulatory care pharmacist, Emily Hajjar, PharmD, interacts with caregivers regularly and understands how much they juggle. To simplify the medication piece, for example, she calls pharmacies to ensure medications are covered and ready for the patient and caregiver when they arrive.
“[This] makes a smoother transition and takes one thing off the caregiver, especially if a prior authorization is needed,” said Hajjar.
The U.S. Census Bureau forecasts that adults 65 years or older will grow to nearly 23% of the U.S. population by 2050. This adds up to an additional 24 million people who could potentially require caregiver assistance over this period.
The research article also noted the breadth of health conditions requiring assistive care for older adults. One expert cited in the research report pointed to the ever more difficult personal and medical tasks frequently assigned to a home caregiver—often without appropriate training—as creating anxiety about causing harm or the potential for symptoms of depression.
Hajjar, who is also a professor at Jefferson College of Pharmacy in Philadelphia, understands that just taking the time to ask a caregiver how they are doing can go a long way. She realizes that when most of the focus is on the patient, sometimes a caregiver can go unrecognized.
“Taking a few minutes to check in with them helps them to be heard and creates a stronger therapeutic bond with them,” she said.
In the works
Clinicians and researchers appreciate the need for caregivers and are now focusing more attention on their welfare, driving developments that may offer relief.
One example is Rush University’s Caring for Caregivers (C4C) model. The program was linked to improved outcomes for both caregivers and care recipients, revealed by findings from an April 2025 study in the Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision and Financing. Developed in 2019, the C4C program offers information to caregivers of older adults and collects data on how to best support them.
C4C is individually tailored and then implemented with caregiver confidence and patient goals in mind. The process takes a few weeks to months and could include speaking with a therapist, coordinating roles in tasks such as giving medication, reducing stressors, and improving communication skills. Consideration of spirituality, cultural backgrounds, and economic load on participants may be included as well.
By meeting the wide-ranging requirements of caregivers, the C4C program could amplify the positive effects that can come with caregiving, noted the JAMA review author.
The financial strain is another concern that impacts caregiver health and more. The competing demands of caregivers often lead to job disruption, and financial strain, not to mention adverse effects on health.
Among other legislative actions, the bipartisan Credit for Caregiving Act, reintroduced in March 2025, offers a tax credit of up to $5,000 for working family caregivers. But just how extensively the recently passed budget reconciliation bill that reduces Medicaid funding will affect family caregivers is uncertain.
The JAMA article details the continued commitment to advocacy for funding and policies by various partners currently in place for caregivers. ■