The RAND Military and Veteran Caregivers Study

Military and veteran caregivers are hidden heroes. This term was coined by RAND and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation in 2014, when the organizations partnered to produce the first national portrait of American people who care, mostly uncompensated, for wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans.

Much has changed since 2014, and a new, national examination of military and veteran caregivers was needed. The new report, America’s Military and Veteran Caregivers: Hidden Heroes Emerging from the Shadows,

• provides updated estimates of the number of adults caregiving in the United States today
• investigates how those caring for wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans compare with those caring for civilians and with non-caregivers
• provides insights on the potential consequences of caregiving on caregivers’ health, their economic security, and their families’ well-being.

With these groundbreaking data, RAND researchers make recommendations to strengthen national support for these hidden heroes as they continue to emerge from the shadows.