Cuesta-Benjumea, Carmen De La

Aim.  This paper is a report of a study conducted to uncover the strategies that women caregivers of relatives with advanced dementia use to rest from care-giving.

Background.  Respite consists of activities and situations that briefly take caregivers away from their care-giving responsibilities. Qualitative studies are focusing on respite as an outcome and are deepening our knowledge about the experience of caregivers’ rest. The strategies that caregivers use to relieve the burden, however, are not fully known.

This paper is a report of a study conducted to identify the conditions that favour the relief of the burden of female caregivers of relatives with advanced dementia. Respite services are a response to caregivers' needs for rest. Although they are wanted and needed services, caregivers do not always have access to or use them. The need for a caregiver-centred approach to relieving the burden of care is a conclusion which respite researchers are increasingly reaching. The method was, grounded theory was chosen as the research strategy.