Brief Summary
Every year, nearly 1.5 million unpaid caregivers across Pennsylvania provide an estimated $22 billion worth of care to support loved ones with disabilities. Family caregivers are an essential piece of the puzzle in meeting the needs of Pennsylvania’s aging population, but many caregivers lack an awareness of available services, knowledge of how to begin accessing them, and confidence in applying for support. The goal of this project is to enhance support for family caregivers by evaluating the newly launched PA CareKit and assessing the effectiveness of the CareKit in practice. The CareKit is a “caregiver toolkit”, a collection of tools, information, and resources to address key challenges in the caregiver journey.

Objectives

1. Measure the effectiveness of the PA CareKit in reducing caregiver burden and improving caregiver wellbeing.
2. Evaluate the impact of the PA CareKit on reducing financial strain experienced by caregivers and care recipients.
3. Analyze potential reductions in Medicaid (Community HealthChoices) expenditures associated with caregiver use of the PA CareKit.
4. Identify best practices for educating and engaging professionals on integrating the PA CareKit into caregiving conversations and service delivery.
5. Gather recommendations from caregivers and providers to improve the content, tools, language, and usability of the PA CareKit.
6. Examine the unique needs of kinship caregivers and older adults providing care for adult/grown children with developmental disabilities and assess the CareKit’s relevance and effectiveness for these groups.

Results
Evaluation findings from this project will inform the continuous improvement of the PA CareKit design, content, and distribution, with the ultimate goal of strengthening the support available for Pennsylvania’s caregivers.

Community Impact
Findings from this project will be shared across aging, disability, and caregiving networks.

Publications
A final CareKit evaluation report will include actionable recommendations for improving the CareKit’s content, language, accessibility and tools; outline best practices for educating and engaging providers; and detail the impact of the PA CareKit on caregiver wellbeing and finances. The final report will also include any insights specific to priority populations, including older adults caring for adult children with developmental disabilities. PDA will review the report and incorporate findings into an enhanced version of the PA CareKit.

Funding Source
Administration for Community Living (ACL)

Partners