Article Text

Download PDFPDF
Caregivers of family members with dementia described the experience of quality respite as a 3 phase cognitive journey towards a sense of “being free”

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request Permissions

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science

QUESTION: How do caregivers of family members with dementia experience respite?

Design

Qualitative interpretive approach.

Setting

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Participants

10 white caregivers (8 wives, 1 husband, and 1 son) who were 47–82 years of age (mean age 70 y) were recruited from self help groups, informal community connections, and home care agencies. 9 of the caregivers were retired, and the duration of caregiving ranged from 6 months to 10 years (mean 5 y). 6 of the care recipients had Alzheimer's-type dementia and 4 had multi-infarct dementia associated with stroke.

Methods

Data saturation determined the number of caregivers interviewed. Each caregiver participated in 2 indepth, loosely structured, 60–90 minute interviews (2 months apart) to discuss their experiences of caregiving and respite. Data analysis procedures included substantive coding, memoing, and integrative diagramming. Credibility was established by 2 other researchers verifying the analytical codes and emerging themes. During the second interview, …

View Full Text

Footnotes

  • Source of funding: National Health Research and Development Program, Canada.

  • For correspondence: Dr V R Strang, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2G3, Canada. Fax +1 780 492 2551.