Abstract
ObjectivesThe Covid‐19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on many people living with dementia and carers. Caring for a person living with dementia at home with limited avenues for support and a break challenged many carers. Care homes in England closed to visitors, with very few offering opportunities for a short‐stay. We investigated impact of Covid‐19 on views and expectations of carers of people living with dementia about residential respite.Methods/DesignQualitative interviews with 35 carers were conducted March–December 2020: 30 women and 5 men, with ages ranging 30–83 years. Interviews explored experiences, views of residential respite, and expectations post‐Covid. Data were thematically analysed and salient concepts were drawn out and discussed within the research team and study advisers.ResultsThree themes were identified in transcripts, relating to impact of Covid‐19 on views and expectations of respite: (1) Carers described regularly negotiating risks and stresses of Covid, weighing up how to prevent infection and changing family arrangements to facilitate caring; (2) Carers were balancing different needs, prioritising needs of their relatives while bearing the impact of cumulative caregiving responsibilities. (3) Uncertainty about future residential respite continued, in terms of availability, ongoing restrictions and trustworthy information sources.ConclusionsResidential respite is a positive, acceptable option for some carers to get a break from caring. Covid‐19 may have heighted some of caregiving stressors and there may be an increased need for a break. Views of care homes developed during the pandemic suggest that individual confidence to use respite may need to be rebuilt.
Highlights
The global Covid-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on many people living with dementia and their family and friends
The final semi-structured interview questions that are relevant to this paper focused on capturing carers’ experiences of supporting a relative or friend living with dementia during the pandemic, views of residential respite during the pandemic, and expectations of the future of residential respite
Carer stress when supporting people living with dementia has long been recognised (Bascu et al 2021) and several options have been developed to ameliorate this, including respite at home and in residential facilities
Summary
The global Covid-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on many people living with dementia and their family and friends. While some healthcare and community services moved online; with varied accessibility and acceptability (Tuijt et al 2021), personal care, socialising, and monitoring at home often continued or became entirely undertaken by family members. For those receiving domiciliary services (home care) these services were badly affected by staffing shortages and some families, fearing infection, declined such support (Giebel, Cannon et al.2021). While there is some mixed evidence of when residential respite care in a residential facility for individuals may be effective (Vandepitte et al 2016; Salin et al.2009), a temporary break of any sort provides valued support to some families and people living with dementia alike (Alzheimer’s Society 2020)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
