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Examining What Caregivers Do During Respite Time to Make Respite More Effective
Dale A. Lund*,
Rebecca Utz,
Michael S. Caserta,
and
Scott D. Wright
University of Utah Gerontology Program and Center on Aging, Salt Lake City
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dale.lund{at}nurs.utah.edu.
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Abstract |
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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.
First published on October 1, 2008, doi:10.1177/0733464808323448
Journal of Applied Gerontology 2009;28:109.
A more recent version of this article appeared on February 1, 2009

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