PERSPECTIVES OF PATIENTS AND FAMILY CARERS Informal carers of older family members: how they manage and what support they receive from respite care Sirpa Salin, Marja Kaunonen and Pa ¨ivi A ˚ stedt-Kurki Aims. To describe informal carers’ coping strategies and their experiences of the support provided by respite care. Background. The target set in the Finnish national old age policy strategy is that 90% of the population over 75 should be able to live at home. A major source of support for older people and their families is respite care in an institution. Design. Survey. Methods. The data were collected among informal carers who regularly use respite care services (n = 143). Two structured questionnaires were used: the Carers’ Assessment of Managing Index (Nolan et al. 1995) and an index developed by the researchers. Results. Informal carers who provided care for younger individuals or people who needed less help had a better quality of life. Spouse carers and older informal carers were less satisfied with their quality of life than younger carers. Periods of respite care had a major influence on informal carers’ quality of life: 93% said they felt invigorated. Care periods remained rather isolated episodes in the lives of the older patients in that there was hardly any discussion at the institution about the family’s situation, the objectives of respite care, or about how the informal carer was coping. Altogether, 47% of the nurses remained fairly distant. The most useful coping strategies involved creating alternative perspectives in the caring relationship. Conclusions. The results strengthen the knowledge base of informal caregiving by showing how caregivers cope and what kind of support they need in their demanding caring role. Relevance to clinical practice. Respite care nurses should invest greater effort in supporting informal carers. The service should be developed as an integral part of home care for older people. Nurses and informal carers should see each other as partners who share a common goal, i.e. the well-being of the entire family. Key words: burden, coping, nurses, nursing, older people, survey Accepted for publication: 27 May 2008 Background Finland’s population is ageing faster than in any other EU country; latest figures (Statistics Finland 2004) put the number of people aged 65 or over at 830, 940 or 16% of the population. The target set in the national old age policy strategy is that 90% of the population over 75 should be able to live at home either independently or with the support of social and healthcare services and/or family members (MSAH, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health 2003). Informal caregiving by family members is a broader concept than personal care of an older person. Caregiving often includes a strong element of invisible caring and preparing for anticipated problems (Ekwall et al. 2004). Understood in these terms, informal caregiving or caring refers to coordination or ‘taking care’ essentially assuming Authors: Sirpa Salin, MScN, RN, Doctoral Student, Senior Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing Science, University of Tampere, Finland; Marja Kaunonen, PhD, Docent, MScN, RN, Adjunct Professor, Department of Nursing Science, University of Tampere, Pirkanmaa Hospital District, Research Unit, Finland; Pa ¨ivi A ˚ stedt- Kurki, PhD, RN, Professor, Head of Department, Department of Nursing Science, University of Tampere, Pirkanmaa Hospital District, Research Unit, Finland Correspondence: Sirpa Salin, Department of Nursing Science, University of Tampere, FIN-33014, Finland. Telephone: + 358-31- 3551 6812. E-mail: sirpa.salin@uta.fi 492 Ó 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation Ó 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Journal of Clinical Nursing, 18, 492–501 doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2008.02550.x