Caregivers for members of the military and veterans experience depression at a higher rate than any other group in the nation and that can be lethal.
"Out of a sample of 500 caregivers, almost 24% said, 'yes, I have considered suicide since becoming a caregiver," said Roxana Delgado, PhD, director of the Caring for the Caregiver program at UT Health San Antonio.
Delgado was her Iraq war veteran husband’s caregiver for years until he regained his independence.
"And I want to make sure that those coming behind understand that there's hope and that there's a future, and that being a caregiver may be challenging, but it should not be the end of life of anyone," Delgado said.
Her research led to the creation of the Military and Veteran Caregiver Portfolio, which explores health outcomes in military caregivers.
"So we are seeing a trend where those family members who are caring mostly for veterans who have TBI or PTSD, they're at a higher risk of experiencing this sense of suicidality themselves," she said.
Delgado’s research has led to the development of resources to help caregivers feel less hopeless and isolated...including the Academy for Inclusive Care, which trains health care providers on how best to include caregivers in the creation of treatment plans.
"I think that by including them, we're going to be doing a better service," she said. "But not only that, we're going to be able to really make lives better."
Science & Medicine is a collaboration between TPR and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio that explores how scientific discovery in San Antonio advances the way medicine is practiced everywhere.
