title: An investigation of factors related to the use of respite care services for children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID) living at home in Japan.
abstract: Limited time away from the child is cited as the main factor that increases the burden for the primary caregiver of severely disabled children. The aim of this study was to quantitatively elucidate the factors related to the desire to use social services and the actual use of respite care services by the primary caregivers of severely disabled children in Japan. In this study, we investigated the use of respite care services in accordance with the primary caregivers' wishes by examining inhibiting or promoting factors associated with respite care service use only among those who wished to use social services. A total of 169 Japanese mothers participated and answered the questionnaires. We conducted a logistic regression analysis and a multiple regression analysis to investigate the factors related to respite care service use. The most important factors affecting a primary caregiver's desire to use social services were the belief that the child would enjoy using social services and the family's approval of the social service use. The most important factors affecting respite care service use were the family's approval of the use and a large care burden on the primary caregiver. Respite care services should be sought out before the care burden becomes too great to enable the primary caregiver to more easily contribute to the continuation of home care. A background of mother-child separation anxiety disrupted the use of respite care. However, believing that the child enjoys using social services may reduce primary caregivers' psychological resistance to being separated from their child, which is supported by tradition. Thus, it is also important for respite care service providers to provide information about the children to their primary caregivers and families while they are using respite care services.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Healthcare, Division of Nursing, Tokyo Healthcare University, Tokyo, Japan.|Department of Family Nursing, Division of Health Sciences and Nursing, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kaori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishigaki
authors.affiliation: National Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoneyama
authors.affiliation: Chiba Rehabilitation Center, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Nursing, Division of Health Sciences and Nursing, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kamibeppu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D007564:Japan; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers; D012144:Respite Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: children with disabilities; home care; primary caregivers; respite care services; separation anxiety