Veteran Caregivers Face Unique Challenges
December 12, 2020
Many veterans return home from military service with health issues that necessitate a daily caregiver to help them do certain tasks. Often this caregiver is a spouse or other close family member, helping to make their loved one’s life after injury or illness better and recovery easier.
Little was known about the personal impact this tough job takes on caregivers of veterans, until a study from the RAND Corporation shed some light on the unique issues that affect them. It found that caregivers of veterans must juggle their caregiving duty with the demands of everyday life at great personal toll. Resources like the VA Family Caregiver Program seek to provide a monthly stipend to these individuals to lighten their load. New eligibility criteria for this program were put into place in early October 2020, to take effect
The RAND Corporation is a research and development nonprofit and think tank that analyzes information related to the United States Armed Forces. Its veteran caregiver study findings were published in 2014.
It found that there are 5.5 million military caregivers in the United States, 1.1 million of whom care for post-9/11 era veterans. All caregivers — Veteran and civilian — are adversely affected by their duties and experience higher than average rates of depression and other health issues, financial difficulties, and career and relationship problems.
Those who care for older veterans tend to experience similar issues as civilian caregivers, however post-9/11 era veteran caregivers face unique difficulties and extra stressors. The study found that:
- Post-9/11 era veteran caregivers are younger and often juggle a job and a family with caregiving
- They are less likely to have a supportive network of people and services in place to help
- They are four times as likely as a civilian caregiver to experience depression
- One third of them have no health insurance
- Post-9/11 era veteran caregivers also are more likely to be caring for loved ones who suffer from common mental and emotional health conditions that frequently affect Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans, like post-traumatic stress disorder, which can be extremely demanding
The VA Family Caregiver Program provides the in-home caregivers of severely injured veterans a monthly stiped. The veteran must have a service-connected disability and require daily help with some or all tasks, provided by the caregiver. They must have a disability rating of at least 70 percent and be enrolled in VA Healthcare for the caregiver to qualify and the amount paid to the caregiver is based on the veteran’s level of disability and where they live.
In addition to financial support, the VA Family Caregiver Program provides eligible caregivers with travel expenses when their loved one needs care away from home, counseling, health insurance, VA caregiver training and respite care.
For more information on this program visit https://www.caregiver.va.gov/support/support_benefits.asp