Support for Care Partners and Caregivers: 2023 Summit Session 5

We report on Session 5 of the 2023 NIA National Research Summit on care, services, and supports for persons living with dementia and their care partners/caregivers, "Support for Care Partners and Caregivers."

The session included scholarly presentations, comments by national caregiver advocates, and a conversation among panelists, discussants, and online attendees. Panelists later worked with the National Institute on Aging to identify gaps and opportunities to improve support for care partners and caregivers.

Presentations emphasized the need to construe caregiving within an intersectional framework; include meaningful stakeholder engagement in research; and recognize the complex fabric of local, regional, and national policy affecting caregiving services and supports. Discussants emphasized the need to recognize caregiver needs and enable caregiver agency in research, policy, or practice.

The conversation underscored the importance of including caregivers in efforts to improve care/caregiving and by taking as broad a construction of caregiving as possible.

Presentations and discussions centered on three key themes: The critical importance of integrally engaging family caregivers in all aspects of research, practice delivery and improvement, and policy development; Recognition that inclusivity should be a driving principle in identifying and understanding caregivers and the caregiving role; Appreciation for the intersection of the spheres of research, practice, and policy in affecting the well-being of family caregivers and those for whom they provide care.