Providing respite care to carers of people with dementia Research Proposal

Providing respite care to carers of people with dementia - Research Proposal Example There has been a significant change in the provision of healthcare services in the recent decades whereby the balance of care is being shifted from communities and institution based services to personalized care. This shift in care provision has caused great concern in the field of public health mainly due to the fact that the carers of people with chronic illnesses such as dementia are now burdened with the added responsibility leading to a gradual and consistent deterioration of their own physical and mental health. Various researches conducted in the past have highlighted the gravity of the issue and pressed for policy changes in favour of providing respite care to the carers of people with dementia and making such care more accessible.The term respite care refers to in generic terms refers to short-term care. However in the field of healthcare it refers to phased care, relief care, planned care, programmed care, holiday care, social admission, and shared care. Various types of re spite care are now available for both the patients as well as their carers. This includes community based day care, institutional care, and paid or voluntary care services offered by institutions or volunteers or friends of the caregivers. Such care services can broadly be categorized as in-home care services, adult day centres - including provision of transportation and meal services; and residential care facilities - which affords break or vacation for the carers which are not covered under the insurance or Medicare.