Mental Health and Well-Being in Informal Caregiving: Challenges, Transitions, and Support Mechanisms

Dear Colleagues,

Informal caregiving is a cornerstone of health and social care systems worldwide, yet it remains largely undervalued and insufficiently supported. Informal caregivers—typically family members or close friends—provide ongoing, unpaid care to individuals with chronic illnesses, disabilities, or age-related conditions. This role encompasses a broad range of physical, emotional, and logistical responsibilities, often undertaken without formal training.

The health implications of informal caregiving are increasingly documented in the literature. Caregivers face elevated risks of stress, burnout, and mental health disorders. Studies indicate that psychological distress is approximately 20% more prevalent among caregivers than non-caregivers. This vulnerability is especially pronounced during key transitional periods such as bereavement. As demographic trends point toward aging populations and increased reliance on home-based care, addressing the challenges faced by informal caregivers has become both timely and critical.

In light of these realities, this Special Issue aims to deepen understanding of the informal caregiving experience, with particular emphasis on mental health and psychosocial well-being. We welcome submissions that explore the psychological and emotional impacts of caregiving, resilience and coping mechanisms, and interventions designed to support informal caregivers. This thematic focus aligns with the journal’s scope—including mental health, gerontology, social work, health policy, primary care, implementation science, and digital health —and seeks to contribute to the growing interdisciplinary evidence base for effective caregiver support.

We invite original research, systematic or scoping reviews, and conceptual or theoretical papers. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Mental health outcomes among informal caregivers;
• Psychosocial and educational interventions for caregiver support;
• Resilience, coping strategies and identity in caregiving contexts;
• Professional supports;
• Workplace supports;
• Community-based support networks;
• Post-caregiving transitions, grief and bereavement;
• Gender, cultural and socio-economic influences in caregiving;
• Ethical, legal and policy considerations in informal care.

We look forward to receiving your contributions and to advancing meaningful discourse on the needs of informal caregivers and the systems that support them.

This Special Issue underscores the centrality of informal care in contemporary societies and the demographic, geographic, economic, familial, and social challenges it entails. We seek submissions that deepen understanding and prompt a rethinking of public policies from a global and sustainable perspective.

We particularly welcome studies that deepen understanding and inform practice and policy from a global and sustainable perspective. Submissions that demonstrate methodological transparency, data availability, innovation and interdisciplinary work—spanning mental health, gerontology, social work, health policy, primary care, implementation science, and digital health—that can inform practice and policy and catalyze more equitable, sustainable support for informal caregivers.

Dr. Gillian Paul
Guest Editor

Prof. Dr. Catarina Afonso
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• informal caregivers
• health literacy
• multicultural environment
• practice education
• person-centered care
• community network
• digital approaches
• health promotion