An In-home Respite Care Program to Support Informal Caregivers of People With Dementia

During the respite care period, lasting at least five days, a trained or experienced care worker for persons with dementia takes over all caregiving tasks while the informal caregiver is absent. The care worker thus temporary moves into the house of the person with dementia. The care worker also writes down his/her observations in a diary as well as daily experiences and strategies on how to manage the difficult behaviors the caregivers listed before. So additionally to the provision of respite, this program also includes caregiver support and psycho-education. This support enables the caregiver to validate theirs perceptions, to learn how to deal with difficult behaviors and to feel understood by somebody.