The project’s overarching goal was to empower caregivers—both formal and informal—to better cope with the psychological demands of their roles through a structured, accessible, and practical resilience training program. We wanted to equip caregivers with tools and strategies to safeguard their mental health and foster a balanced approach to their challenging work environments. This overall goal was reached by conducting an in-depth analysis of resilience needs in caregiving; developing an engaging, competence-oriented online training course; and creating supplementary material, our "One Minute Wonder" setcards, that offer quick, actionable exercises for daily use. By addressing the mental health challenges that caregivers face, the project seeked to improve their well-being, reduce burnout and attrition, and support the caregiving sector in adapting to changing labor market demands. Ultimately, the project aspired to create a sustainable, healthier workforce capable of meeting the needs of care receivers effectively.
The project Care4You4Others was initiated to address the critical challenges in the caregiving sector, particularly the mental and emotional strain formal and also informal caregivers face. With Europe, and Austria specifically, forecasting severe caregiver shortages by 2030, the need for psychological resilience tools became evident. Current training programs for caregivers often focus on technical skills but overlook self-care and resilience. These areas are often not dealt with sufficiently and future caregivers are not prepared well enough for the difficult situations they will face in their future, which leads to high burnout and turnover rates. Informal caregivers often have no chance at all to take any training in the field of resilience, which makes their situation even worse. This project aimed to bridge this gap, offering solutions to enhance formal and informal caregivers' well-being and sustainability in their roles.