Caregiving & Support
National Wellness Month: Caregiver Wellness Must Include Everyone
Every August, National Wellness Month encourages us to focus on protecting mental health and well-being. While these discussions often center on self-care and healthy lifestyle behaviors, they should also include the nearly 63 million family caregivers in the United States who provide essential support to loved ones every day. Given the substantial emotional, physical, and psychological demands of caregiving, supporting caregiver wellness is not only important for caregivers themselves but also for the individuals, families, and communities that depend on them.
Caregiving can be rewarding, of course, but it can also take a significant toll on mental and physical health. For family caregivers of individuals living with dementia in particular, the demands of providing ongoing care often create chronic stress, social isolation, and emotional burnout. Yet, not all caregivers experience these wellness challenges in the same way.
My research on LGBTQ+ dementia caregivers highlights the unique challenges many LGBTQ+ caregivers face, including stigma, discrimination, and inequitable access to resources, all of which can contribute to poorer health outcomes. Using Wave 3 data from the NIH-funded LGBTQ+ Social Networks, Aging, and Policy Study, my research found that LGBTQ+ older adult caregivers of individuals with dementia were three times more likely to experience internalized LGBTQ+-related chronic stress, twice as likely to report suicidal ideation in the past year, and more likely to report cognitive difficulties and high blood pressure than their LGBTQ+ non-caregiver peers.
As we observe U.S. National Wellness Month, these findings underscore that caregiver wellness cannot be achieved through self-care alone. Although individual coping strategies are important, meaningful improvements in caregiver well-being require structural investments that address the root causes of caregiver stress. This includes expanding access to culturally responsive services, ensuring equitable access to caregiver and social support systems, and fostering affirming environments where LGBTQ+ and other caregivers from minoritized backgrounds are respected, supported, and included.
The Power of Caregiver Support Networks
Social support is one of the strongest protective factors for caregiver well-being. Friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors, community and faith-based organizations, and healthcare providers all play important roles in helping caregivers manage stress and protect their mental health.
For LGBTQ+ dementia caregivers, LGBTQ+-affirming support networks can be especially valuable. However, my research found that LGBTQ+ dementia caregivers were less likely than their LGBTQ+ non-caregiver peers to report having family support, coworker support, and neighbor support related to their LGBTQ+ identities.
These findings highlight the importance of strengthening affirming support systems for caregivers. When family caregivers have fewer sources of support available to them, the role of welcoming community organizations, healthcare providers, and caregiver programs becomes even more critical. By intentionally creating supportive spaces for caregivers of all backgrounds, we can help reduce isolation, foster belonging, and ensure that no one faces caregiving challenges alone.
Structural Investments That Support Caregiver Wellness
Improving caregiver wellness requires more than individual coping strategies. It also requires structural investments that address the systemic barriers many caregivers face. Examples can include:
- Expanding government funding for caregiver support programs, respite care, and mental health services
- Increasing access to affordable, culturally responsive healthcare and long-term care services
- Strengthening policies that provide financial and workplace supports for family caregivers
- Investing in caregiver education, training, and navigation services that help families access available resources
- Expanding community-based programs that reduce social isolation and increase opportunities for social connection among caregivers of differing backgrounds
These investments can help reduce caregiver burden, improve access to support, and create the conditions necessary for all caregivers to maintain their mental health and well-being.
A Final Message on Promoting Caregiver Wellness
This National Wellness Month, I encourage readers to think more broadly about what caregiver wellness truly means. Caregiver well-being is shaped not only by individual coping strategies, but also by the structural drivers that influence caregiver community access to services, support, and resources.
Supporting caregiver wellness therefore requires more than promoting resilience at the individual level. It also requires meaningful investments in the social systems and structures that help caregivers thrive, including accessible services, inclusive healthcare, strong social support networks, and policies that address the realities of family caregiving.
My research on LGBTQ+ dementia caregivers demonstrates the consequences of these structural inequities. When LGBTQ+ caregivers experience stigma, discrimination, social isolation, or limited access to support, their mental and physical health can suffer. When caregivers have access to affirming services, supportive communities, and equitable resources, the benefits extend beyond individual well-being to improve population health.
Ultimately, caregiver wellness is not solely an individual responsibility. It is a collective investment. Creating systems that better support caregivers benefits not only those providing care, but also the millions of family members who rely on them every day.
Wellness is strongest when it is shared, supported, and accessible to everyone.
Dr. Nicole Lampe is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral Health Science & Practice at the University of South Florida.
