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6 Reasons to Screen

There couldn’t be a better time to start screening for family caregivers—and connecting them with needed resources

Many family caregivers are struggling and feel isolated. According to a report by AARP, caregiver self-rated health has declined, with almost two-thirds of caregivers reporting their situation as emotionally stressful and 21 percent feeling alone. That’s the bad news.

The good news? Health care providers are uniquely positioned to help. By identifying caregivers during patient visits—where patients may often be caregivers or care recipients—providers can help connect caregivers to needed resources and prevent caregiver burnout.

We know you have limited time during patient visits. That’s why we’ve created a simple and easy way to identify caregivers and immediately connect them with free resources and support. Our Family Caregiver Screening Toolkit, which contains a two-question screening sheet, has everything you need to start helping caregivers today. Need more reasons to download the toolkit?

6 reasons to screen

  1. Caregivers want to have conversations with their health care providers. Less than one-third of caregivers have been asked by providers what was needed to care for their care recipient and only 13 percent reported providers asking what they need to care for themselves.
  2. There is no “typical” caregiver. Caregivers are found in all generations, racial/ethnic groups, income and education levels, gender identities and sexual orientations—our screening sheet will help you identify them.
  3. You can directly help caregivers. The screening takes under a minute to complete, helps you identify those who might need help, and provides specific info for free caregiver support and services.
  4. By helping caregivers, you also help their care recipients. Evidence suggests that when care recipients and caregivers are treated as a dyad, outcomes for both are improved.
  5. Family caregivers are critical to health care delivery. Half of family caregivers perform nursing/medical tasks for individuals with cognitive, physical, or behavioral health conditions.
  6. Caregivers reduce costs within the health care system. In 2017, family and friend caregivers provided about 34 billion hours of unpaid care to an adult, enabling a $470 billion savings nationwide.

Connecting caregivers with needed resources

For 40+ years, we’ve helped the family caregivers of patients just like yours. In fact, thousands of caregivers have relied on us to help them:

  • Take the guesswork out of caregiving
  • Improve self-care and emotional health
  • Provide the best possible care for their care recipient
  • Understand dementia and other conditions

We provide caregivers with free resources and tools, expert support and high-quality information addressing their unique caregiving needs. You can connect them with us by passing on our website (www.caregiver.org) or our contact info at 800.445.8106 or info@caregiver.org.