By: Elke Zschaebitz, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, FNAP (she/her)
One of the emerging global public health crises we face is the burden placed on families who care for individuals with chronic, debilitating conditions. Family caregivers are defined as kinship persons who provide care to family members who have difficulty with daily functioning because of physical, cognitive, or emotional impairment, often unpaid or with minimal payment for the time, transportation, food, and support that are provided. The family financial implications are often significant.
While often perceived as primarily a challenge for Western healthcare systems, the kinship caregiving crisis spans both developed and developing nations, affecting families and communities across all economic and social strata. This is due to a confluence of factors, including aging populations worldwide, reductions in family size, increased opportunities for women in the workforce, complex medical treatments, and advancements allowing chronically ill patients to live longer lives. Kinship caregiver challenges are particularly compounded by declining birth rates in many countries, resulting in smaller family networks available to provide care for an increasing number of chronically ill individuals at home.
Despite the increasing physical and mental health demands of the caregiver role in societies, we have yet to universally add “caregiving” as a health risk factor, nor has health education included this role as a high health risk factor, despite numerous studies underlying the health sequelae for this crucial role. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7334a2.htm
Although caregiving varies, it usually involves helping with maintenance and/or higher-level activities of care. The chronic worry and stress of caregiver burden can include physical, psychological, social, and financial problems; embarrassment; overload; social isolation, and resentment. It can also lead to significant health problems, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, lack of self-care or screenings, and higher rates of premature mortality. Addressing caregiver isolation is crucial for the health of both the caregiver and the care recipient, and strategies include joining support groups, maintaining outside connections, taking regular breaks, and utilizing available resources. The problem is that these resources require a comprehensive assessment by health providers and a team-based response.
Strong partnerships between health sectors and caregivers require teams trained in interprofessional collaboration, where each discipline contributes unique expertise while working toward common goals. Health systems depend on caregivers to keep loved ones stable, making the role of interprofessional teams vital in supporting both care recipients and caregivers.
We must learn from each other. Cultural caregiving patterns vary globally and interprofessional education that includes cultural competency training helps healthcare teams understand and work within these diverse caregiving contexts. Moving forward, interprofessional education must become central to addressing the global caregiving crisis. When healthcare professionals learn together, they practice together more effectively, creating the collaborative care models essential for supporting patients at home and their increasingly overwhelmed caregivers.
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About the author:
For more about Dr. Elke Zschaebitz please read our welcome post or the Editors page.
References
- Le Toullec, E., Le Gagne, A., Leblong, E., Somat, A., & Piette, P. (2025). Assessment of burden and needs of family caregivers for the elderly: A scoping review. Frontiers in Aging, 6, 1578911. https://doi.org/10.3389/fragi.2025.1578911
- Monahan, D. J., Smith, C. J., & Greene, V. L. (2013). Kinship caregivers: Health and burden. Journal of Family Social Work, 16(5), 392–402. https://doi.org/10.1080/10522158.2013.832464
- Duangjina, T., Jeamjitvibool, T., Park, C., Raszewski, R., Gruss, V., & Fritschi, C. (2025). Sex and gender differences in caregiver burden among family caregivers of persons with dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 138, 105977. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2025.105977
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