November is recognized as National Family Caregivers Month. The Caregiver Action Network (formerly known as the National Family Caregivers Association) was founded by two friends between 1991 and 1993. The first National Family Caregivers Week was celebrated in 1994 and the week grew into a month celebration of awareness of family caregivers.
This month of awareness is important for so many reasons, but especially because 2 of every 5 adults act as family caregivers; an increase of 9% from reported family caregiving 3 years ago. As the population continues to age and as chronic health conditions increase in prevalence, there is an even greater need for caregiving. Often, family members find themselves in this role.
The Caregivers Action Network celebrates Family Caregivers this month in order to:
- Raise awareness of family caregiver issues
- Celebrate the efforts of family caregivers
- Educate family caregivers about self-identification
- Increase support for family caregivers
If you are a family caregiver, thank you so much for all that you do to provide strength for our community and its members. For resources on being a caregiver, please visit the Caregiver Action Network resource page here. We recognize that caregiving can be stressful and very emotional. The Missouri Arthritis and Osteoporosis Program encourage you to check out our online toolkit with resources for being a caregiver to a person with one or more chronic health conditions. In order to take care of someone else, you also need to take care of you!