Women's views of caring for family members: Use of respite care

Citation Salin, S., Astedt-Kurki, P. (2007). Women's views of caring for family members: Use of respite care. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 33(9), 37-45.

Design Content analysis of personal interviews

Purpose To describe the life situation of informal caregivers who regularly use respite services and to generate a practical theory of health promotion for families caring for a frail, older family member.

Participants The participants of this study were N=17 caregivers (13 wives and 4 daughters), who used respite services at least three times per year, for one to two weeks at a time.

Procedure Data collection was based on the principles of saturation. Participants were interviewed until redundancy was achieved and no new information could be obtained. The content of the interviews was analyzed in search of patterns. Themes describing the content of the relationship were chosen for the units to be analyzed. Data (from the interviews) were then listed under the various themes.

Outcomes This article describes the quality of the relationship of informal caregivers and care receivers and its effects on the emotions experienced during respite care. Several types of relationships emerged as well as feelings experienced (relief, guilt sometimes both) and coping mechanisms (intellectualization).

Author Salin, S., Astedt-Kurki, P.