__NOTOC__ Respite care is planned or emergency temporary care provided to

caregiver A caregiver or carer is a paid or unpaid member of a person's social network who helps them with activities of daily living. Since they have no specific professional training, they are often described as informal caregivers. Caregivers most commo ...

s of a child or adult. Respite programs provide planned short-term and time-limited breaks for families and other unpaid caregivers of children with a developmental delay or behavioral problems, and adults with an

intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation,Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...

or cognitive loss in order to support and maintain the primary caregiving relationship. Respite also provides a positive experience for the person receiving care. The term "short break" is used in some countries to describe respite care. Even though many families take great joy in providing care to their loved ones so that they can remain at home, the physical, emotional and financial consequences for the family caregiver can be overwhelming without some support, such as respite. Respite provides a break for the family caregiver, which may prove beneficial to their health. Sixty percent of family caregivers age 19 to 64 recently surveyed by the

Commonwealth Fund The Commonwealth Fund is a private U.S. foundation whose stated purpose is to "promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, includ ...

reported fair or poor health, one or more chronic conditions, or a disability, compared with only 33% of non-caregivers. Respite has been shown to help sustain family caregiver health and wellness, avoid or delay out-of-home placements, and reduce the likelihood of abuse and neglect. An outcome-based evaluation pilot study showed that respite may also reduce the likelihood of divorce and help sustain marriages. Respite care or respite services are also a

family support Family support is the support of families with a member with a disability, which may include a child, an adult, or even the parent in the family. In the United States, family support includes "unpaid" or "informal" support by neighbors, families, an ...

service, and in the US is a long-term services and support (LTSS) as described by the Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities in Washington, D.C. as of 2013. Rud Turnbull (Dr. Rutherford H. Turnbull III), himself a father of a young boy and co-director of the Beach Center on Families and Disability, completed one of the first law reviews of respite and family support in the 1990-1991 ''University of Kansas Law Review'' titled: "A Policy Analysis of Family Support for Families with Members with Disabilities". There are many organisations in the UK and worldwide that help and support with respite care.

Models for respite care

There are various models for providing respite care.

In-home respite

In-home care is popular for obvious reasons. The temporary caregiver comes to the patient's home and gets to know the patient in his or her normal environment. The temporary caregiver learns the family routine, where medicines are stored, and the patient is not inconvenienced by transportation and strange environments. This model may involve friends, relatives and paid professionals. In the US, depending on the state,

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...

or Medicare may be used to help cover costs. Respite (In-Home) Services means intermittent or regularly scheduled temporary non-medical care (which can be healthcare financed) and/or in-home supervision. In-Home Respite support typically includes: * Assisting the family members to enable a person with developmental disabilities to stay home * Providing appropriate care and supervision to protect that person's safety in the absence of a family member * Relieving family members from the constantly demanding responsibility of providing care * Attending to basic self-help needs and other activities that would ordinarily be performed by the family member

Respite (out-of-home) services

Respite services are provided in the community at diverse sites, and by service providers which operate licensed residential facilities or bill under a category called respite. Respite services typically are obtained from a respite vendor, by use of vouchers and/or alternative respite options. Vouchers are a means by which a family may choose their own service provider directly through a payment, coupon or other type of authorization.

Respite and community

Respite is an early service from the 1950s in which parents sought funding from the government for payments for specialized child care, called respite provided by the parent organizations themselves. Professional models of respite developed in the 1970s included community recreation options for the adults (e.g., at Ys, neighborhood centers, run and walks) as the parents had a "respite" or break from care giving (Racino, 2000). The state of New York has over 950 service providers in intellectual disabilities alone as of the mid-2000s (Castellani, 2005).

Group homes and respite

Many parents wished to have a designated facility to drop off their child for "respite" (e.g., weekend), which in institutional days is a role state governments played before it was recognized that the child had rights of their own. States did fund and develop community respite centers (small homes), and also designate places in

group home A group home, congregate living facility, or care home (the latter especially in British English and Australian English) is a residence model of medical care for those with complex health needs. Traditionally, the model has been used for children ...

s for respite, including innovative friends of the home in conjunction with the private, non-profit sector.

Specialized facility

Another model uses a specialized, local facility where the care receiver may stay for a few days or a few weeks. The advantage of this model is that the specialized facility will probably have better access to emergency facilities and professional assistance if needed.

Emergency respite

There may be the need for respite care on an emergency basis. When using "planned" emergency care, the caregiver has already identified a provider or facility to call in an emergency. Many homecare agencies, adult daycare, health centers, and residential care facilities provide emergency respite care.

Sitter-companion services

Sitter-companion services are one of about 6 different innovative community approaches or models to respite care which were developed internationally. They are all paid services in the US, which are only available to designated "clients" of the service systems. They are sometimes provided by local civic groups, the faith community and other community organizations. A regular sitter-companion can provide friendly respite care for a few hours, once or twice a week. Care must be taken to assure that the sitter-companion is trained in what to do if an emergency occurs while the regular care-giver is out of the home.

Therapeutic adult daycare

Therapeutic adult daycare may provide respite care during business hours five days a week. However, in some instances, this care may also be provided 24 hours a day. Usually, these are facilities for designated clients only, and not related to family support services other than any specialized service is considered a family support to the family which desires it. However, this group is involved in also trying to reinstitutionalize children which they also term a support to the parents as do the parents involved.

Respite care charities in the UK

The Respite Association provides short-term assistance in the funding of appropriately qualified respite care for disabled, sick, elderly or terminally ill persons, such that their regular carer can be afforded a break. Other charities with similar aims include Revitalise.org and CareForCarers. Some individual charities, such as the

Alzheimer's Association The Alzheimer's Association was founded by Jerome H. Stone with the help of several family members in Chicago, Illinois, and incorporated on April 10, 1980, as the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association, Inc. It is a non-profit Ame ...

, also offer respite assistance for affected members.

References

{{Reflist} Nursing Types of health care facilities