One in four US adults is a caregiver, according to the 2025 Caregiving in the US Report by the National Alliance for Caregiving. But who are these 63 million caregivers, and what is changing in the caregiving landscape in 2026?
According to the report, the majority of caregivers are women (61%), and caregivers are aging, with the average caregiver age being 51. Almost one-quarter of caregivers provide care to more than one care recipient at a time.
At CoordiCare, we are family caregivers building a tool for caregivers. 2025 brought major changes in the healthcare policy landscape alongside shifts in healthcare technology with the growing use of AI. Below are our predictions on how caregiving will change in 2026.
Caregiver burnout will increase as unfilled need for paid caregivers continues to grow.
We predict there will be more unpaid family members facing caregiver burnout, as the demand for home healthcare workers continues to grow and many jobs remain unfilled due to high turnover rates, funding cuts, and stricter immigration policies. The demand for home health aides and nursing assistants will open about 6.1 million jobs. With the aging boomer population, employees are retiring from or leaving the workforce, along with seniors and disabled individuals balancing home and community-based care. But many jobs may remain unfilled due to high turnover rates, funding cuts, and stricter immigration policies. High turnover rates largely result from inconsistent work hours, low pay, and discrimination, according to PHI. With a reduction in Medicaid federal funds, care organizations can shut down, fewer patients will qualify for care, and employee pay will remain low. Furthermore, 1 in 4 direct care workers are immigrants, as per PHI. Naturalized and non-citizen immigrant women largely fill nursing assistant, home health aide, and childcare roles in the U.S., meaning stricter citizenship and mass deportation policies could further perpetuate the worker shortage. Collectively, the shortages will increase worker caseloads, caregiver burnout, and institutionalization rates.
AI adoption slowly embraced
Artificial Intelligence has been driving operational efficiency and patient care in healthcare for the past few years, but how does it fit with caregiving? The 2026 Axxess Industry Growth Insights report showed 62.5% of home care companies consider recruitment and retention their biggest challenge, yet 31% planned to adopt technology training to address challenges. The report also showed 24% of home care organizations are investing in AI presently, though almost 80% see its potential. Furthermore, it stated that Claim Health found 30% of claims are denied due to intake errors, and AI could conduct intakes quickly and accurately. On the clinical side, over half of providers believe AI can develop personalized care plans, yet over a third feel concerned about AI’s accuracy. These conflicting statistics emphasize the need to balance AI with human touchpoints for compliance and accuracy. MAC Legacy suggests eliminating “duplicate tasks” before implementing AI to stabilize operations.
Senior care organizations will better emphasize patient mental well-being
Caring for older adults isn’t just about daily living assistance, but quality of life. According to Right at Home, senior care providers in 2026 will prioritize emotional check-ins, anxiety and depression screenings, and group programming to combat social isolation and grief. Examples are therapeutic support groups, fitness classes, hobby and volunteerism groups, and intergenerational programs. Technology is also paving the way into senior care. For example, Virtual Reality goggles could capture and help someone “experience” moments of a wedding one couldn’t attend. Video calling has been commonplace in senior living centers, too. Furthermore, assisted living and group homes are learning about cultural and religious norms, holidays, food preferences, and more to personalize their care. More senior and disability care communities are designed specifically for religious, ethnic, and other marginalized populations these days too.
Families are Shifting to Tech-enabled Care Coordination Tools
For years, families have relied on Notes apps, text messages, and spreadsheets to manage appointments, medications, and to track tasks across siblings, spouses, parents, and relatives. In 2026, we are seeing a specific shift towards tools designed for multi-person caregiving.
Unlike general productivity apps, tools like CoordiCare are built around the specific challenges of care coordination: medications and appointments accessible for multiple family members.
What’s driving this shift? Families are realizing that general tools weren’t designed for the complexity of long-term care. When your mom has five medications, three specialists, and care is split between you and your two siblings across different cities, you need more than a shared calendar.
The trend isn’t just about digitization—it’s about reducing the invisible labor of coordinating the coordinators, which often falls disproportionately on one family member (usually a daughter or daughter-in-law).