Respite care

This study focuses on solutions to issues that arise from gaps in communication between primary family caregivers of older adults and respite caregivers. We collected data through 18 semi-structured interviews with primary family and respite caregivers and qualitatively analyzed the interviews to extract common needs. Participants identified three main needs that our designs address: building trust through status updates, learning routines & care management, and accessing technology.

PURPOSE: We examined associations between caregiving intensity and mental health among cancer caregivers at the population level and potential moderation by an actionable intervention target, support service needs. METHODS: Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System survey data (2015) from caregivers of adult patients with cancer was analyzed. Caregiving intensity included hours per week caregiving (high, > 20; low, ≤ 20) and caregiving duration (long, > 2 years; short, ≤ 2 years). Mental health was reported as number of mentally unhealthy days (MUDs) in the past 30.

Respite services play an important role in supporting older adults and their carers. When an older person is unable to fully represent themselves, provision of respite care relies on effective information-sharing between carers and respite staff. This study aimed to explore, from carers' perspectives, the scope, quality and fit of information-sharing between carers, older people and respite services.

Study aims were to explore differences in predictors of respite care use between older (aged 65+) and younger caregivers (aged 18–64 years), and associations between caregiving load and respite care use using multivariate logistic regression analysis and unpaid caregiver (n= 10,500) data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey. Caregiving load comprised number of care recipients, weekly hours in caregiving, and caregiving duration. Variables with a significant association with respite care for older caregivers were female gender, income, and health insurance.

Background and Objectives: Meeting the unique and changing needs of individuals living with Alzheimer's disease and their family caregivers can be very challenging given the dynamic and often unpredictable nature of the disease. Effective programs are available to help families manage the challenges they will face. Research Design and Methods: This article first describes the educational, information, and support needs of individuals living dementia and their family caregivers across all stages of Alzheimer's.

This article offers an examination of aging processes of lifelong caregivers and the possibilities for social exclusion place experienced by parents of adult children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study of parental caregivers (n = 51) sheds light on how enduring caregiving roles can lead to social exclusion in three ways: misunderstanding of ASD and stigma, the complexity of the caregiving roles, and impact on daily routines including challenges with long-term planning for both the adult children and the parental caregivers.

Family members continue to be the predominant providers of support, care and accommodation for loved ones with mental health issues, and empirical studies suggest that accessing mental health respite can be helpful for both carers and consumers. However, the availability of, and access to, this respite in Australia is far from optimal. Major issues have also been identified such as low utilisation, the inappropriate and inflexible nature of services and the inability of services to respond to situations where multiple needs exist.

Respite services are vital in supporting informal caregivers in need of a break from their caregiving duties. A respite training program aimed at developing respite provider competence and improving caregiver well-being was evaluated. Trainees experienced significant growth in their perceived respite knowledge and confidence to deliver respite from pretraining to posttraining. An objective core competency assessment confirmed posttraining knowledge in 10 core areas of respite.

Ageing in Place policies have transferred responsibility for many frail elderly people and those living with dementia from residential to in-home care. Despite this placing a greater obligation on families, in Australia carers continue to under-use day respite services. This qualitative design study identified issues around the use of day respite care from the perspective of the family carer, focusing on barriers to attendance and strategies to facilitate attendance.

During National Learning Disability Week, Mencap launched its Breaking Point campaign to get more short breaks for family carers. Mencap's survey showed that 6 out of 10 carers of people with severe or profound learning disabilities surveyed by Mencap were getting no short break service. Many local authorities do not see these families as a priority. Mencap wants spending in this area to be closely checked. As part of a campaign, people emailed their MP. So far, more than 1,000 people have emailed their MP. [Journal abstract]