Nearly Half of Unpaid Caregivers Fear the Holidays Could Harm Their Mental Health, According to New ARCHANGELS Survey

ARCHANGELS, a National Movement for Caregiver Support, Offers Insight to Help the Nation's 43% of Unpaid Caregivers This Holiday Season and Beyond

BOSTON, Nov. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ARCHANGELS, a women-owned, omni-channel platform supporting the 43% of adults serving as unpaid caregivers in the US, surveyed caregivers across the nation to understand the impact the holiday season is having on all aspects of their health. The results confirm the massive opportunity that exists to ramp up support for this essential population during what is dubbed the "most wonderful time" of the year but often feels just the opposite. In fact, 40% of caregivers are extremely concerned the holidays could actually harm their mental health, and 1 in 4 would rather just skip the holidays all together.

"This new data validates the intensity so many of us are feeling, especially during a holiday season coinciding with significant economic uncertainty and global unrest. Intensity was already at an all-time high since we began tracking the metric 4 years ago, having tripled since before the pandemic," said Alexandra Drane, CEO and Co-Founder of ARCHANGELS. "60% of all caregivers were also clear they could use additional resources during the holidays, which is unsurprising since caregivers serve as the invisible but often unsupported backbone of our country. If anyone could use some holiday magic, it's this nation's unpaid caregivers."

ARCHANGELS measure of intensity is correlated with mental health impacts. Delivered through the ARCHANGELS platform, the ARCHANGELS Caregiver Intensity Index®, puts a caregiver "in the red", "yellow", or "green" – with red being the highest level of intensity, and 90% of caregivers in the red likely to be experiencing a mental health impact. The 2023 ARCHANGELS Caregivers & Holidays Survey was designed to build upon the existing ARCHANGELS research and reinforces how out of sync the holiday hype can be with caregiver intensity.

• Financial Strain: 1 in 2 caregivers (49%) say caregiving will impact what they can spend during the holiday season (this is true at all income levels).
  • 81% of caregivers who are 'in the red' expect caregiving to impact their holiday spending.
• Mental Health Alert: 40% of all caregivers are concerned for their mental health this holiday season.
  • 3 out of 4 'in the red' caregivers worry their mental health will take a hit during the holidays.
• Holiday Escape: A quarter of unpaid caregivers would prefer to just skip the holidays all together this year.
  • 1 in 2 caregivers 'in the red' would love to skip out on the holidays.
• Wish List for Support: Caregivers reported the three top opportunities to reduce holiday stress are: mental health support; hands on help from family/friends/community; and help with all things financial.
• A Bright Spot: Even with all of the challenges, 72% of caregivers expect the holidays to bring them joy.

Drane added, "Unpaid caregivers don't think of themselves that way – in their mind, they're 'just a son' 'a daughter' 'a good neighbor' or 'friend'. They're also the last to ask for help, laser focused instead on what they can do for others. That's why this data is so important – it puts into context the impact the holidays can have on a population that does so much and gets so little – and serves as a data-driven roadmap for how all of us can help…especially right now." 

ARCHANGELS supports caregivers in all 50 states through partnerships with employers, consumer brands, health-plans/systems, communities, and states. Using its omni-channel, data driven campaigns, ARCHANGELS also impacts unpaid caregivers through public-private partnerships like the Any Care Counts™ campaigns live now in multiple states including Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. For caregivers that would like to get their score and find resources to help or for organizations looking to support this vital population, visit www.archangelscii.me/my-score or www.archangels.me.

ABOUT SURVEY METHODOLOGY
The final sample for the study included 1,147 U.S. resident caregivers sourced from Dynata's general population survey panel. The methodology employed a carefully curated panel of respondents, ensuring a diverse and representative sample that mirrors the demographic diversity of the US population. Rigorous quality control measures were implemented throughout the data collection process to guarantee the integrity and reliability of the findings. The survey's methodology adhered to industry best practices.  The average age was 41, 63% of respondents were female. Median family income among respondents was $62500. The sample was 15% black non-Hispanic,15% Hispanic and 70% white.

ABOUT ARCHANGELS
ARCHANGELS is a women-owned, omni-channel platform hustling to make change happen for unpaid caregivers across the nation. Our Caregiver Intensity Index (CII) is a proprietary tool designed to engage all caregivers, even those who do not see themselves in the role. The platform provides each caregiver with a 'score' that not only validates their experience, but crosswalks them over to the resources that exist but often go underutilized due to lack of awareness.  ARCHANGELS works with states, employers, brands, health systems, and community organizations (e.g., Faith-based orgs, AAAs/ASAPs etc.,) to create impact for unpaid caregivers and their communities, drive ROI in a low-lift high-impact way, and to amplify and support policy and advocacy efforts with data and stories generated through these initiatives.  ARCHANGELS is part of the Rebel Health family, an organization that is working to expand our definition of health to include life — because when life goes wrong health goes wrong. Other Rebel Health initiatives include Engage with Grace and the forthcoming 'Who Cares?' podcast.

SOURCE ARCHANGELS