Each November, we pause to recognize the more than 50 million family caregivers in the US. These individuals provide care and support to family or friends with disabilities, ensuring their health and dignity and their ability to live in the community. Family caregivers are usually unpaid, and many are also working full or part time. Caregiving can take a significant toll on one’s physical, mental, and financial health, but research has shown that coordinated supports and services can reduce these burdens and enable caregivers to support their loved ones for longer and delay or avoid the need for institutional care.

NIDILRR-funded research in caregiving supports looks across the lifespan, from parents of children with disabilities to caregivers of older adults. These include two Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers:

• The Center for Research, Training, and Dissemination of Family Support for People with Disabilities Across the Life Course focuses research, training, technical assistance, and dissemination efforts under the theme of Caregiver Support Empowers the Whole Family.
• The Research and Education to Support the Science of Independent Living for Inclusion and Engagement: National Center of Excellence RRTC (RESILIENCE RRTC) aims to advance translational research and implementation science and increase the availability of evidence-based interventions that improve caregiver support services for those assisting family members with a disability.

The latest research also includes several field-initiated projects focusing on interventions to address caregiver needs. These include:

• Parents Taking Action eHealth Adaptation and Pilot for Latinx, Black, and Chinese Families of Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder aims to address the disparities facing underserved racial and ethnic minority families by adopting an innovative microlearning concept in delivering culturally tailored, bite-sized parent training content in an online format in several languages.
• Setting Families on a Positive Path to Recovery after Pediatric TBI: Road-to-Recovery, A Randomized Control Trial examines the efficacy of the Road-to-Recovery-TBI (R2R-TBI) intervention, a self-guided responsive-web-design intervention developed to support caregivers in the acute phase following pediatric-TBI and equip families with skills to promote a positive path to recovery.
• North Texas Traumatic Brain Injury Model System includes a project to assess the feasibility and efficacy of problem-solving training to reduce the care burden of care partners of individuals with TBI

Explore more current and completed NIDILRR-funded projects supporting family caregivers and their loved ones with disabilities.

Our Research In Focus series has included  several of the studies these projects have published over the last several years:

• Latina Family Caregivers in Rural Areas Turn to Their Community to Support Young Adults with Disabilities in Transition
• A Brief Couples Therapy Program May Provide Needed Supports for Partners of People with Brain Injuries
• Older Adults Share What Helps Them Trust a Home Care Provider
• People Aging with Spinal Cord Injuries and Their Caregivers Share Experiences with Aging
• Home and Community Based Waivers May Make Family Life Easier for Families of Children with Autism
• Balancing Work and Family Can be Tough for Caregivers of Children with Behavioral Health Disabilities
• People Caring for Injury Survivors May Benefit from User-Friendly Information and Support Groups
• People Caring for a Family Member with a Traumatic Brain Injury Can Benefit from Self-Care Supports
• Caring for a Family Member with Spinal Cord Injury Can Be Both Challenging and Rewarding
• What Can the Fields of Aging and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Learn from Each Other to Support Family Caregivers?
• The COVID-19 Pandemic Has Taken a Toll on Latinx Families with Children with IDD, but There Are Some Positives as Well

NARIC’s information specialists respond to requests from caregivers every day, from those just beginning the caregiver journey, to those seeking supports as their roles change and evolve over time. If we can be of any assistance to you and your family, please reach out to our information specialists.