Rand Study Highlights Need to Integrate Family Caregivers in Health Teams During Pandemic

The Rand Corporation has announced a new study which describes “why, in light of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), it is more critical than ever to integrate family caregivers into patients’ health care teams and highlights several solutions for accomplishing this goal.”

As stated in the study summary: “There are currently about 53 million family members in the United States providing care to loved ones. These family caregivers might be supporting a parent, a disabled child, or a spouse with a chronic illness by assisting with everyday activities, such as eating, bathing, dressing, driving, and taking medications. These caregivers provide a significant portion of health and support services in the United States to individuals with serious illnesses but are often overlooked by existing health care systems. Family caregivers cannot easily share important clinical or social information with other care providers or receive the necessary information to effectively support their loved ones. Trying to provide care in this environment can be burdensome to family caregivers and detract from more productive work, breeding frustration for all parties, undermining the quality of care provided, increasing unmet care needs, and generating adverse physical and mental health consequences for both caregivers and care recipients.”