Effects of respite services on fluctuations in caregivers' stress: A pilot study using a daily diary

ObjectivesFamily caregivers for people with dementia report daily fluctuations in stress levels. Much prior research on caregivers daily stress fluctuations has used a daily diary method. However, only a few studies have used this method with family caregivers to examine the effects of respite services. This study aimed to use a daily diary method to assess the effects of respite services on stress and depression in family caregivers. MethodsParticipants included 13 family caregivers of persons with dementia using respite services in rural areas of Japan. Participants completed self-administered questionnaires every day for seven days, including the use or non-use of respite services, cognitive and daily living function, depression, and stress appraisal. Generalized linear mixed models with data nested within persons were used for the analysis. ResultsFew significant effects of services were found on caregivers depression and stress appraisals at the between-person level. However, within-person level analyses using generalized mixed models showed that respite services significantly reduced stress appraisal. ConclusionThe findings demonstrate the stress-buffering effect of respite service for caregivers and the applicability of a daily diary method to the small sample.