Description: Family caregivers are family members, friends, neighbors, or other individuals who provide support, usually unpaid, that helps people with health and mobility challenges remain in their homes and communities. Although family caregiving is often highly rewarding, it can be stressful and contribute to emotional, physical, and financial strain that threatens caregivers’ own health and ability to continue providing essential care. The economic value of unpaid care is estimated at $600 billion, which underscores the critical importance of family caregivers to the U.S. healthcare system. This course provides an introduction to family caregiving for people of all ages living with chronic conditions and disabilities as a key public health issue. Course topics will include recent findings on the prevalence and scope of family caregiving in the U.S., social determinants of health that impact family caregivers, different family caregiving contexts and how they influence caregivers’ experiences, and clinical care models, interventions, and policies to support family caregivers.
Learning Objectives: Students taking this course are expected to:
1) Describe the prevalence and scope of family caregiving in the U.S.
2) Identify risk and protective factors for family caregiver health and well-being
3) Understand how social determinants of health influence family caregiving
4) Explain how family caregiving experiences differ across caregiving contexts
5) Evaluate clinical care models, interventions, community programs, and policies to
support family caregivers
