Residential respite care: the caregiver's last resort.

Understanding the beliefs that caregivers of people with dementia have in regard to the use of residential respite may inform strategies to address low service utilisation. In this article, the application of theory in qualitative research with 36 caregivers provides insight into why most delay service use. Although some believe that service use may increase caregiving longevity, others position service use in conflict with normative values, and may hold beliefs that negative outcomes will result from utilisation. To address caregivers' beliefs to support service use, improvements are required to service promotion, as well as to models of care.