TY - JOUR

T1 - Planning, commissioning, and delivering bespoke short breaks for carers and their partner living with dementia: challenges and opportunities

AU - Caulfield, Maria

AU - Seddon, Diane

AU - Williams, Sion

AU - Jones, Catrin Hedd

N1 - The Wales School for Social Care Research on behalf of Health and Care Research Wales, Welsh Government

PY - 2022/7

Y1 - 2022/7

N2 - The importance of supporting unpaid carers for people living with dementia (PLWD) is recognised in adult social care policy both nationally and internationally. In the UK, social care legislation emphasises care and support should help people achieve the outcomes that matter to them in their life; this includes the opportunity to take a break from caring routines and responsibilities. Accordingly, there is growing policy and practice interest in short breaks provision to address the diversity of carer break needs and preferences and deliver meaningful outcomes for carers and those they support. This paper reports findings from qualitative staff interviews that offered strategic and operational insights into short breaks provision. It presents a dynamic model of the short break landscape in a region of Wales, describing factors shaping local and regional decision-making. The model identifies key challenges (barriers) and opportunities (enablers) that shape the planning, commissioning, and delivery of bespoke short breaks for spousal carers and their partner living with dementia. Through highlighting the interplay between complex context-specific processes and contingences, the model informs initial theory development in short breaks provision.

AB - The importance of supporting unpaid carers for people living with dementia (PLWD) is recognised in adult social care policy both nationally and internationally. In the UK, social care legislation emphasises care and support should help people achieve the outcomes that matter to them in their life; this includes the opportunity to take a break from caring routines and responsibilities. Accordingly, there is growing policy and practice interest in short breaks provision to address the diversity of carer break needs and preferences and deliver meaningful outcomes for carers and those they support. This paper reports findings from qualitative staff interviews that offered strategic and operational insights into short breaks provision. It presents a dynamic model of the short break landscape in a region of Wales, describing factors shaping local and regional decision-making. The model identifies key challenges (barriers) and opportunities (enablers) that shape the planning, commissioning, and delivery of bespoke short breaks for spousal carers and their partner living with dementia. Through highlighting the interplay between complex context-specific processes and contingences, the model informs initial theory development in short breaks provision.

KW - Carers

KW - Dementia

KW - Qualitative Research

KW - short breaks provision

KW - respite

KW - UK health and social care policy implementation

U2 - 10.1111/hsc.13533

DO - 10.1111/hsc.13533

M3 - Article

VL - 30

SP - e1255-e1267

JO - Health and Social Care in the Community

JF - Health and Social Care in the Community

SN - 0966-0410

IS - 4

ER -