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Respite—A Coping Strategy for Family Caregivers

University of Alberta

Margaret Haughey

University of Alberta

Linda A. Gerdner, R.N., Ph.D.

Little Rock VA Medical Center, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Cynthia S. Teel

University of Kansas School of Nursing

Vicki R. Strang

Margaret Haughey, University of Alberta

The caregiver respite experience is seen as one way to moderate the negative consequences of caregiving. From an interpretivist research orientation, this study explored how 10 family care-givers of persons with dementia experienced respite. From a coping theoretical perspective, the caregiver respite experience is discussed as a process of "getting out" of the caregiver world, and is linked to avoidance strategies of emotion-focused coping. The following three phases within the coping dimension of the respite experience were found: caregivers recognizing their need to get out of the caregiver world, giving themselves permission to actually get out from it temporarily, and having the appropriate social support resources available to facilitate the getting out. The critical practice and research implications linked to caregivers’ability to acknowledge their need for respite are described.

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