Video Respite: an innovative resource for family, professional caregivers, and persons with dementia.

The development of a new and promising resource for family, professional caregivers, and persons with dementia is detailed in this article. The concept, Video Respite, refers to the initial goal of creating videotapes specifically for persons with dementia to capture and maintain their attention, enabling caregivers to have respite time. Ten 20-53-minute videotapes are described along with their potential benefits and limitations. Early research findings reveal that most persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) watch and participate with the tapes, caregivers use the time for respite, and staff of SCU's report the tapes to be calming for the residents.