Noteboom The Law Firm

New Study Shows Veteran Caregivers Enjoy Work Despite Sacrifices

November 18, 2010 - Being a caregiver for a disabled veteran takes a special type of person. The job is packed with stress, an can be detrimental to the caregiver's health. The work also tends to isolate the caregivers, and their finances usually take hits as well. Yet, many caregivers report their work as rewarding, according to a new study performed by the National Alliance for Caregiving and the United Health Foundation. The study focused solely on those people choosing to perform care giving roles for disabled veterans and collected their data through surveys and interviews.

The majority of the time the caregiver is the veteran's spouse. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, however, tend to be younger in age, and many joined the military shortly after high school and before they were married. In those cases, care giving duties often fall on parents or siblings. The study found approximately 25% of veterans injured in either Iraq or Afghanistan requiring this level of care receive it from their parents.

Because most severely disabled veterans require around the clock care, care givers are rarely given the opportunity to see friends and relatives. Many are also forced to either significantly reduce or stop the amount of time they work outside of providing care for the veteran. Yet, 94% of those providing this care report feeling fulfilled and proud of their work.

Caregivers for disabled veterans are also more prone to suffer physical problems rooted in their care giving duties than those providing care for non-veterans. Comparing the two groups, care givers for veterans have higher levels of personal stress, higher levels of stress on their marriages, spend less time with their children, and see more emotional problems in their children.

Although the VA is developing programs to aid care givers, the study found not only do most people have no idea about the programs, most would not qualify for the help. Nevertheless, the VA continues to work towards offering support services for those in need.