Health and Wellbeing
Support for Caregivers:
The Caregiver Assistance and Resilience Enhancement (CARE) Program
The Challenge
Todd Keitz, CEO of My Care Friends, has been a caregiver for as long as he can remember. As a child, he helped his mother care for numerous family members, including his uncle and sister, then eventually his grandparents until they passed. Now, as an adult, he assumes the role of primary caregiver and advocate for both of his parents as they currently battle life-threatening diseases. Despite Todd’s purposeful work to ensure his family’s well-being, it has altered the course of his life in various ways.
There are more than 53 million informal caregivers in the United States. They experience financial strain, mental health stress, and difficulty navigating the caregiving role—and the number is rising. Not only is being a caregiver often a chronically stressful experience, but it can also be hazardous to the caregiver’s health.
“We recognize that caregivers are the backbone of healthcare, yet they often navigate their roles with little guidance or support.” – Todd Keitz, Founder/CEO, My Care Friends
“Who takes care of the caregivers? Caregivers shoulder immense responsibilities, managing emotional stress, financial strain, and complex care needs. Our project combines the expertise from My Care Friends, which brings deep knowledge of caregiver needs and lived experiences, with primary data collection in the Understanding America Study, which provides rich information on a representative sample of caregivers to examine and unpack the challenges caregivers face on a daily basis. At USC ICT, we’re focused on the future of caregiver support to create digital solutions that connect caregivers to the resources they truly need.” – Sharon Mozgai, Director of the USC Institute for Creative Technologies’ Virtual Human Therapeutics Lab
The Partnership
With the number of people needing and giving care increasing, My Care Friends is partnering with Public Exchange to examine a program to better support caregivers. The pilot—known as Caregiver Assistance and Resilience Enhancement (CARE)—will especially focus on those assisting patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s. My Care Friends and Public Exchange have designed various interventions in partnership with a faculty team from the USC Institute for Creative Technologies and the USC Center for Economic and Social Research. The team is testing the interventions’ efficacy to equip caretakers with strategies and tools to maximize their well-being and ability to provide care.
“The CARE Program is an innovative pilot initiative aimed at equipping caregivers with practical strategies and tools to enhance both their well-being and their ability to provide care. Through this research, we hope to validate what we hypothesize: when caregivers feel supported, connected, and empowered, they can better sustain themselves and those they care for.” – Katie Seymour, VP of Programming and Community, My Care Friends.
Inspired by the personal caregiving journey of the Founder/CEO, My Care Friends is a community of mindful caregivers and patient advocates who aim to foster meaningful connections among caregivers, provide effective educational programs and resources, and increase awareness of the significant need to support caregivers.
Our findings directly support My Care Friend’s ongoing efforts to:
Foster a Safe Online Community
Enable caregivers and patient advocates to meaningfully and easily connect in a safe online community with others in similar roles. Whether communicating about caregiving, patient advocacy, or personal interest topics, My Care Friends provides many ways for community members to feel seen, heard, and understood.
Provide Educational Resources
Provide educational programs and resources with relevant and robust content, giving caregivers and patient advocates information and tools to be more knowledgeable, confident, and effective in their roles.
Raise Awareness
Raising awareness at all levels about the growing caregiver shortage–which causes an exponential financial, physical, emotional, and psychological strain on individuals and families–and the urgent need for increased support.
Our learnings will also be used to support other organizations dedicated to supporting caregivers.
The Approach
My Care Friends is collaborating with USC researchers on a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of various interventions and resources implemented in the Caregiver Assistance and Resilience Enhancement (CARE) Program. The CARE Program includes the following:
Informational Materials
Bi-weekly email newsletters containing research-based information about various conditions, caregiving tips, and strategies to manage stress and improve the quality of life for both the caregiver and the patient.
Stories of Other Caregivers
The newsletters will also feature stories and testimonials from caregivers, providing insights, encouragement, and a sense of community.
Expert Webinars
Monthly webinars with healthcare professionals, psychologists, and experienced caregivers to provide expert advice and answer anonymous questions.
To engage with the study team, please contact Public Exchange Senior Project Manager, Caroline Nguyen
cpnguyen@usc.edu
Study Recruitment
This study will recruit 500 caregivers of a family member or friend to participate. A sample of 400 participants will be recruited among members of the Understanding America Study who have reported being a caregiver of a family member or friend. We will oversample caregivers of dementia or Alzheimer’s patients so that they constitute at least 20% (N=80) of the final sample. Additionally, 100 members from the My Care Friends community will be invited to participate.
Project Team Members
The Caregiver Assistance and Resilience Enhancement (CARE) Program is part of a collaborative effort between My Care Friends, USC Institute for Creative Technologies, Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research, and USC Dornsife Public Exchange.
