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Examining What Caregivers Do During Respite Time to Make Respite More EffectiveUniversity of Utah Gerontology Center and Center on Aging, Salt Lake City, dale.lund{at}nurs.utah.edu
University of Utah Gerontology Center and Center on Aging, Salt Lake City
University of Utah Gerontology Center and Center on Aging, Salt Lake City
University of Utah Gerontology Center and Center on Aging, Salt Lake City Research on respite services for caregivers has been extensive over the past 25 years; however, findings regarding the effectiveness for improving their well-being have shown only moderate or mixed support. Missing from this research has been an examination of what caregivers do during their respite time. We studied 52 family caregivers who used adult day services and examined the consistency between their desired and actual respite activities and its relation to well-being outcomes. We concluded that (a) caregivers pursued a wide range of respite activities; (b) 46% were only somewhat or not very satisfied with how they spent their time; (c) those who were inconsistent in their desired versus actual respite activities and also dissatisfied with their use of time were more depressed, more negative in dimensions of burden, and less satisfied with caregiving; and (d) facilitators should be used to work individually with caregivers to identify activities and goals for respite time that are most likely to improve their well-being.
Key Words: adult day care intervention caregiver activities burden and satisfaction
This version was published on February
1, 2009 Journal of Applied Gerontology, Vol. 28, No. 1,
109-131 (2009) |
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