Self-Reported Abuse and Mistreatment among Japanese Elders Receiving Respite Care

This study examines physical and psychological mistreatment reported by Japanese elders who received care from family members. Data is based on structured face-to-face interviews with community-dwelling elders who utilized respite care services. Among the 118 elderly respondents, 12% reported being hit or almost being hit by their caregivers. Close to 54% reported at least one type of psychological mistreatment. Men who received care from their spouses were most likely to report abuse. Elders who were victimized reported increased levels of depressive symptoms. Logistic regression analyses indicated associations between physical abuse and past conflicts with the caregiver. Psychological mistreatment was associated with receiving care from a spouse, past conflicts with the primary caregiver, and depression. The findings suggest the need for increased awareness of the needs of community-dwelling Japanese elders who are at risk for abuse, mistreatment, and depression.     

The Psychology of Respite Care for People with Dementia in Australia

Australian health professional bodies promote the use of respite to ease carer burden, following well‐established findings that carers often face physical, mental, social, and financial strain while providing informal care. This narrative review examined the use and impacts of respite for older clients, with a particular focus on Australian research and on dementia respite. It was found that despite reports of high satisfaction from caregivers with respite use, barriers, such as caregiver concerns for the well‐being and safety of the care recipient during respite, limited flexibility for short‐notice respite booking, and low provision of support and education post respite, impacted on the accessibility and efficacy of respite care. It was concluded that respite care needs to move away from a custodial model to a more psychological model of care, and that more natural and flexible models (e.g., host family respite), integrated with increased post‐respite support and psychosocial education, are likely to be beneficial and need further evaluation.     

Understanding Respite Care Use by Families of Children Receiving Short-Term, In-Home Psychiatric Emergency Services

Respite care is widely believed to be an important support service for families raising a child with a disability. We report the findings of a respite care utilization study conducted within the context of a larger research and demonstration project examining three models of intensive, in-home services for children experiencing psychiatric crises. Respite care, both in-home and out-of-home, was a support service available to families in two of the three study conditions. Overall, 34% of 146 eligible families used in-home and or out-of-home respite care. Utilization was lower than the estimates developed prior to implementation, prompting an inquiry at the end of the first project year designed to maximize use and to gather more information on caregiver and service provider attitudes toward respite care. The inquiry included caregiver and provider focus groups, surveys, and enhanced data collection and analysis. Caregiver interviews indicated that many families did not fully understand what it meant to receive respite care or even that it was available to them. A comparative analysis of respite care users and non-users revealed that respite care users were more likely to have younger children, children who had a greater number of assessed functional impairments, and fewer social supports. Respite care users also reported greater difficulty managing their children's difficult behaviors.