The University of North Georgia's (UNG) Institute for Healthy Aging (IHA) partnered with the Georgia Department of Human Services' (DHS) Division of Aging Services to conduct the Georgia Respite Care Study in fiscal years 2025 and 2026.

This document's purpose is "to describe and evaluate the overall landscape of caregiver respite services and caregiver services policy in Georgia and other Southeastern states," according to DAS.

Dr. Pamela Elfenbein, professor and former IHA director; Dr. Rima Gibbings, associate professor of health informatics and administration; Dr. Kelly Manley, associate professor of economics; Dr. Yu Sun, professor of geography and geospatial sciences; and Will Fulton, a Master of Science in counseling student and IHA graduate research assistant, authored the study.

Others from UNG who assisted with the study were Dr. Stephen Smith, professor of psychological science; Candace Lovell, IHA administrative support manager; Shannon Caffee, IHA administrative assistant; and undergraduate student Ashley Annis, who is pursuing a degree in environmental spatial analysis.

"It was a privilege for the UNG research team to collaborate with DHS, united in our commitment to better understand and strengthen respite care and supports for family caregivers," Elfenbein said. "As our findings and recommendations continue to be broadly disseminated, we are confident that this work will inform and advance Home and Community Based Services policy and practice in Georgia and across the nation."

The study explored the challenges faced by the 2.5 million adults in Georgia who serve as family caregivers and provide $16.3 million in unpaid care annually.