01/07/2025
A Care Reform Bill was enacted by the Scottish Government on June 10 that provides the right to a break (respite care) for unpaid carers. The right to a break has the potential to be transformative and a goal we should be pursuing in the U.S.
As important and groundbreaking as this new policy is, we have a long way to go to make sure that respite is available, affordable and most importantly, designed and offered in ways that family caregivers need and prefer.
In this recent report, Shared Care Scotland found that many carers struggle to access breaks, and when they do, they are often used for domestic chores and errands. Carers said that they would like to use breaks to rest or take time for themselves to do the things they enjoy. https://www.sharedcarescotland.org.uk/policy-practice-development/carers-survey-research-report-2024/
This aligns with research from Rebecca Utz, PhD, and Dale Lund, PhD, University of Utah. Both are long-standing participants in ARCH's Respite Research Initiative. Their research on respite time use found that family caregivers who plan for and spend their respite time in ways that are meaningful to them have more long-lasting beneficial outcomes. Watch a recent ARCH webinar: https://archrespite.org/library/webinar-time-for-living-and-caring-an-approach-to-planning-respite-time-to-maximize-caregiver-benefit/
