Making Respite More Effective

Dr. Dale Lund discusses practice and policy suggestions that might enhance caregivers’ use of respite time and discusses how to measure outcomes related to respite time-use.

In 2009, Dr. Dale Lund presented at the National Respite Conference in California on respite time-use suggesting that family caregivers’ use of respite time was a determining factor in the extent to which the family caregiver benefits from the respite received.  While Dr. Lund researched the benefits of respite for many years, his recent study published in the Journal of Applied Gerontology (February 28, 2011) found that employed caregivers were generally more satisfied with respite time-use than nonemployed caregivers.

Dr. Rebecca Utz at the University of Utah and a member of the ARCH Committee for Advancement of Respite Research, has continued Dr. Lund’s research on respite time use, and has developed and researched the effectiveness of an app, Time for Living and Caring, that helps family caregivers more effectively use respite time.

Presenters

Dr. Dale Lund
Professor & Chair
Department of Sociology
Co-Director,
Center for the Promotion of Health Disparities Research & Training
California State University San Bernardino

Now retired, Dr. Lund has been conducting national and local studies on family caregiving since 1983. These studies identified the most common and difficult problems and satisfactions caregivers experience, their use of services, and the potential of respite to be able to continue many of their lifelong interests. His caregiving research has been funded by the Administration on Aging, Bureau of Health Professions, National Center for Nursing Research, and the National Alzheimer’s Association. He has published over 100 journal articles and book chapters and is the editor of two books. Dr. Lund is also a coauthor of the very thoughtful guidebook (2010) for Family Caregivers, Time for Living and Caring: Making Respite Services Work for You!  Dr. Lund was a member of the ARCH Expert Panel on Respite Research.