Caregiver

A caregiver, carer or support worker is a paid or unpaid person who helps an individual with activities of daily living. Caregivers who are members of a care recipient's family or social network, and who may have no specific professional training, are often described as informal caregivers.^[1][2] Caregivers most commonly assist with impairments related to old age, disability, a disease, or a mental disorder.^[3]

Typical duties of a caregiver might include taking care of someone who has a chronic illness or disease; managing medications or talking to doctors and nurses on someone's behalf; helping to bathe or dress someone who is frail or disabled; or taking care of household chores, meals, or processes both formal and informal documentations related to health for someone who cannot do these things alone.

With an aging population in all developed societies, the role of caregivers has been increasingly recognized as an important one, both functionally and economically. Many organizations that provide support for persons with disabilities have developed various forms of support for caregivers as well.