NSHAP Caregiver Network Study: How caregivers connect, cope, and stay healthy over time
Official title: NSHAP Caregiver Study -- Networks, Experiences, and Health Outcomes across the Life Course
Funded at National Opinion Research Center · NIH-11426432 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A large, long-term study will track informal caregivers to understand their support networks and how caregiving affects their health and well-being.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | National Opinion Research Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | May 31, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $2,489,220 |
| NIH project number | 1R01AG102939-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11426432 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Caregivers of adults or seriously ill individuals, including those who began caregiving after age 18 and those who started before age 18.
✕Less likely to help
Caregivers who do not participate or who are not currently providing ongoing care may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This project follows up with NSHAP caregivers to map who helps them, how tasks are shared, and how their caregiving experiences unfold across adulthood. It will introduce new tools to record who helps, what roles they play, and how care is coordinated, plus a life history calendar to capture caregiving episodes from age 18 onward. Researchers will combine qualitative interviews with standardized measures of caregiver burden and strain, then quantify the insights to reveal patterns over time. The study will also include caregivers who began before age 18 to understand early-life caregiving experiences. Results will help families, clinicians, and policymakers understand how caregiving networks influence health and daily functioning.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Better understanding of caregiver networks could lead to resources and support aimed at improving caregiver health and daily functioning.
How similar studies have gone: This project builds on NSHAP, incorporating new measures; prior studies have highlighted caregiver burden but this follow-up adds network-level data and life-history perspective.
Where this research is happening
-
National Opinion Research Center
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Piedra, Lissette — National Opinion Research Center
- Study coordinator: Piedra, Lissette
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.