Jockey Club Stand-by-U Caregivers Community Support Project: In-home Respite for Caregivers of Older Adults

The goal of this study is to investigate whether the in-home respite service model is effective in relieving caregiver's burden and improving their mental wellbeing. Caregivers are triaged into four levels of needs using a self-developed screening tool. Those screened as mild and moderate levels are admitted to the study, while those in low or high-needs levels are referred to other services. Caregivers admitted in this study will receive either 12 or 36 hours of in-home respite services as the intervention. Trained volunteers or substitute caregivers will visit their home to take care the older adults, providing several hours of free time for the caregivers. Assessments are conducted before and immediate after the intervention, and 3, 6, 12 months after the completion of intervention, to measure the changes in mental wellbeing of the caregivers. A control group with no respite service provided is recruited to compare the effects in the changes of mental wellbeing.