Caregivers are famous for monitoring everyone’s health but their own. This free self-check asks 15 questions about how caregiving is affecting you — your sleep, your health, your relationships, your reserves — and returns a burnout score, the areas under the most strain, and a tier-matched action plan you can actually start this week. It runs entirely in your browser: nothing you answer is saved, sent, or shared. The questions and strain areas draw on published caregiver-burden research; the methodology and sources are documented below.
This is an educational self-check, not a medical or psychological test. It cannot diagnose burnout, depression, or any condition. If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) now.
What this self-check is — and what it isn’t
Every question is original and asks about the past month, because burnout is a trend, not a bad day. This is deliberately not the Zarit Burden Interview or any clinical instrument — those are copyrighted tools used in research and clinical settings. What an honest 3-minute check can do is make the invisible visible: caregivers routinely underestimate their own strain until something breaks, and a written score plus a printed summary makes asking for help concrete instead of vague.
Your answers never leave this page. No account, no email capture, nothing stored.
Why burnout is a medical issue, not a character issue
Family caregivers of people with dementia have higher documented rates of depression, high blood pressure, and immune suppression than non-caregivers of the same age — and caregiver collapse is one of the most common reasons a person with dementia moves into a facility earlier than planned. Protecting the caregiver is protecting the care.
How this self-check was built: methodology and scientific sources
This is an awareness tool, not a clinical test — but its questions and the way it weights them follow decades of published caregiver-health research. Here is the reasoning and the evidence behind it.
Why these five strain areas
The check groups its 15 questions into exhaustion, isolation and lost self, your own health, emotional strain, and role overload. These map onto the dimensions that caregiver-burden research has measured since Zarit and colleagues first defined and quantified the “burden” of caring for a cognitively impaired relative in 1980 — the work that established caregiver strain as something objective and measurable rather than a private failing [1]. The wording here is entirely original; nothing is reproduced from the copyrighted Zarit Burden Interview or any other instrument.
Why burnout is framed as a health risk, not a character flaw
The tool repeatedly tells caregivers that a high score is a signal to get support, not to try harder. That framing is evidence-based. The Caregiver Health Effects Study followed older spousal caregivers and found that those reporting caregiving-related mental or emotional strain had a 63% higher risk of dying over four years than non-caregivers of the same age [2]. A meta-analysis of 84 studies confirmed that caregivers show significantly higher levels of depression and stress and worse physical health than comparable non-caregivers [3]. That is why the “your own health” questions — the postponed checkup, the ignored symptom — are weighted heavily and can raise your tier on their own.
Why it asks about the past month, and why “feeling trapped” is the strongest flag
Burnout is a trajectory, not a bad day, so every item asks about the past month rather than this moment. The single most heavily weighted question — feeling trapped or hopeless — reflects the consistent research link between caregiver strain and clinical depression [3]; when it is present, the tool surfaces a support panel with the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline and the 988 crisis line before it shows anything else.
Honest limitations
This self-check has not been validated as a diagnostic instrument and cannot diagnose burnout, depression, or any condition. It is designed to make invisible strain visible and turn it into a concrete, printable request for help — the step the research says caregivers most often skip.
Sources
- Zarit SH, Reever KE, Bach-Peterson J. Relatives of the impaired elderly: correlates of feelings of burden. The Gerontologist. 1980;20(6):649–655. PMID 7203086
- Schulz R, Beach SR. Caregiving as a risk factor for mortality: the Caregiver Health Effects Study. JAMA. 1999;282(23):2215–2219. PMID 10605972
- Pinquart M, Sörensen S. Differences between caregivers and noncaregivers in psychological health and physical health: a meta-analysis. Psychology and Aging. 2003;18(2):250–267. PMID 12825775
Frequently asked questions
Is this the Zarit caregiver burden test?
No. The Zarit Burden Interview is a copyrighted clinical instrument. This self-check uses entirely original questions and produces an awareness score for your own planning, not a clinical score.
Are my answers private?
Yes. The tool runs entirely in your browser. Answers are never transmitted, stored, or shared, and there is no sign-up.
What is respite care and how do I find it?
Respite is short-term substitute care — from a few hours to a few weeks — provided at home, at an adult day center, or in a facility. The federal Eldercare Locator (1-800-677-1116, eldercare.acl.gov) connects you to your local Area Agency on Aging, which maintains the list of respite programs in your county.
Does Medicare pay for any of this?
Medicare covers a cognitive assessment and care-planning visit for the person with dementia, which documents caregiver needs. Respite itself is covered by Medicare only within the hospice benefit, but many state programs, the VA, and some Medicare Advantage plans fund respite hours separately.
What score means I should get help?
Don’t wait on a number. If caregiving is costing you sleep, health appointments, or hope, that’s the threshold — the score just helps you say it out loud.
Medical disclaimer: HelpDementia.com provides educational information only and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are in crisis or having thoughts of self-harm, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), available 24/7.
The National Family Caregiver Support Program funds free respite, counseling, and training in every U.S. state — access runs through your Area Agency on Aging via the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116.