Project Summary
Our network is dedicated to improving the well-being of youth caregivers and the aging adults who they care for. Youth caregivers are people under 18 who provide care for family members due to chronic illness, disability, or other health-related factors. Research suggests that the majority of youth caregivers are caring for grandparents, great-grandparents, or another aging family member. With approximately 10 percent of children in the United States now living with grandparents, and a growing proportion of aging Americans relying on family caregivers, we aim to understand the needs and priorities of youth caregiving families of aging adults. We work in partnership with researchers, school social workers and school administrators, aging specialists, and former and current youth caregivers and youth caregiving families in North Carolina, alongside of national organizations and researchers.
In Tier II, our partnership will continue to enhance and expand our work in the Triangle J region of North Carolina. Our goals for this one-year project include the following:
1. Further enhancing the skills and engagement of our strategic advisory board to expand our network in the state and nationally
2. Establishing an independent advisory council of younger (under 18) youth caregivers through community connections developed in Tier I
3. Educating our partners in comparative effectiveness research and the PICOT (see below) framework to generate a viable research question that we will pursue in Tier III and through proposal
Population of patients/research participants and relevant subgroups of patients
Intervention(s) relevant to patients in the target population
Comparator(s) relevant to patients in the target population
Outcomes that are meaningful to patients in the target population, including the
Timing of outcomes and length of follow-up
Settings in which the intervention is delivered, including the healthcare providers
4. Elaborating on our communication strategy to facilitate the incorporation of diverse views from youth caregiving families of aging adults and other stakeholders