Abstract
The professional literature shows that the majority of people at the end of life prefer to die at home. Family caregivers are essential for this to be possible, but there is little evidence available as to what types of assistance they need to be effective in this role. There is a gap in the literature regarding the impact of respite care on caregivers and this study attempts to fill that gap with a survey of social workers’ views on respite care. The participants in this study include 18 social workers, employed by four different hospice agencies within the Sacramento Hospice Consortium. Participants completed a 10-question survey eliciting information regarding their viewpoints on the respite care programs offered by their agencies. Findings provide information that the most significant factor influencing social workers assessment of the efficacy of their respite programs was how often the perceived need for respite care was met. The most often utilized respite program was a 5-day respite benefit in a skilled nursing facility, despite the problems associated with them of frequently undesirable geographic location, bed unavailability and in particular patient preference. Creating new locations in which to receive this 5-day benefit such as the patients’ home or residential care facility were ways of improving patient satisfaction with a more homelike setting. The idea of a home-style inpatient hospice facility for respite care was unanimously approved by all the social workers, although feasibility due to cost was a concern.