Caring for our Heroes: Exploring effects on Pre and Post 9/11 veteran caregivers

Caregivers of veteran’s care for veterans after they come back from war. They provide a range of services necessary to help the veteran adjust to civilian life. In this literature review, the investigation focuses on the type of services veterans need and the kind of care their caregivers provide. This study also explores the effects of caring for the veteran on the caregivers. Also, this study explores what caregivers need to cope while caring for the veteran. To achieve these goals, we examined the history of the Korean War, Vietnam War, and the Global War on Terror. We explored how these wars affected veterans physically and mentally. I reviewed the literature to learn how caregivers care for the veterans and whether that care is causing a strain on the caregiver. Results from my investigation show that caregivers deal with various forms of hardships, such as physical and mental problems, family and marital problems, as well as financial problems. Younger caregivers are known to have more stressful trauma such as secondary trauma than older caregivers because younger caregivers are caring for veterans that are dealing with recent PTSD and traumatic brain injury. Younger caregivers also tend to have less income, making it more likely that they will experience financial difficulties. Given the lack of research on caregivers’ needs, future research should focus on specific needs caregivers gave and developed while caring for a veteran. Additionally, future research should explore services that can address the caregiver needs.Ope