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Supporting the VA’s ability to deliver integrated, Veteran- and Caregiver-partnered, data-driven approaches to non-institutional care requires understanding the needs of the young caregivers who are involved in Veterans’ care.
Young caregivers are youth (< 18 years old) and young adults (18 – 25 years old) who care for a family member to support their ability to live independently. According to recent census data, there are an estimated 3+ million youth caregivers (< 18 years old) living with a disabled Veteran. Yet young caregivers may also live independently from Veterans while supporting their care. There are no estimates for how many young caregivers under the age of 25 support Veterans, though estimates suggest that they total over 5 million.
Our research has highlighted young caregivers’ vital role in the family system of caregiving. Young caregivers’ well-being is tightly entwined with that of their care recipient and other family members. In fact, the presence of a young caregiver may indicate higher caregiving needs – which the young person is trying to fulfill. Emerging data on young caregivers indicates that these young people sustain both negative and positive impacts of caregiving. Like adult caregivers of Veterans (and others), young caregivers must cope with challenging emotions and overall caregiving burden. Positive impacts include learning medical, behavioral, and household management skills. Youth caregivers of Veterans may choose career paths in the military or in caregiving-aligned fields. In fact, their role within the family may strengthen relationships and build overall family resiliency. Identifying and accounting for young caregivers of Veterans can support and potentially improve long-term outcomes for Veterans.
Our team has partnered with a variety of groups to better understand young caregivers and support research and policy development specifically for young caregivers of Veterans, including the Caregiving Youth Research Collaborative of the American Association of Caregiving Youth and Blue Star Families. Please see our publications for additional information.
Link to publication: https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journals/ijcc/8/4/article-p756.xml
Kalvesmaki A, Garcia-Davis S, Bouldin ED, Trivedi RB, Pugh MJ, Dang S, & Leykum LK. The Silent Service: Identifying Young Caregivers for Military Veterans. Military Medicine. Accepted for the special supplement: “Building Health Through Military Family Readiness and Community Partnerships” DOI pending
Kalvesmaki A, Blok A, & Dodge J. Integrating Families into Veteran Care: A Call to Action for Holistic Support Systems. Military Medicine. Accepted for the special supplement: “Building Health Through Military Family Readiness and Community Partnerships” DOI pending
Kalvesmaki A, Penny L, Shepherd-Banigan M, Hernandez B, Peacock K, Parish J, & Leykum, L. (2024). Establishing a Framework for Youth Caregiving Research at the U.S. Veteran Affairs. International Journal of Care and Caring, vol XX no. XX, p 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1332/23978821Y2024D000000039
Caregiving Youth Research Collaborative (2023) Report on caregiving youth in the U.S.: Progress and opportunity [White paper]. American Association of Caregiving Youth. https://aacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/CY-White-Paper_Final-.pdf
