REVIEW article
Front. Health Serv.
Sec. Patient Centered Health Systems
Volume 5 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frhs.2025.1583975
This article is part of the Research TopicBreaks that Benefit: International Evidence to Support Innovation in Research, Policy, and Practice Around Unpaid Carer Short BreaksView all 4 articles
Unpaid dementia carers: a scoping review of the caregiving trajectory and changing short break needs
Provisionally accepted
- 1Applied Dementia Studies, School of Nursing, Healthcare Leadership and Public Health, Faculty of Health and Social Care, University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom
- 2Bangor University, Bangor, Wales, United Kingdom
- 3Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) Wales Research Centre, School of Health Sciences, Bangor University., Bangor, United Kingdom
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Short breaks are essential to enable unpaid carers to have a life alongside caregiving. However, there is limited understanding of how carers' break needs evolve over time. This scoping review aimed to identify models of dementia caregiving to explore how short break needs may change across the caregiving career. Four databases were searched: Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and APA PsycINFO. Eleven models were identified, outlining various stages of caregiving. These models focused specifically on spousal carers or predominantly included spouses. They demonstrate that caregiving is a dynamic process, marked by increasing demands on carers' time and shifting relational dynamics. The models suggest that short break needs may change in response to certain circumstances, with a shift in emphasis from relational well-being in the early stages to rest and recuperation in later stages. The findings highlight the importance of regular practitioner engagement to monitor and discuss changing break needs, and the need for accessible community and social opportunities that support a mutual respite experience for both the carer and the person with dementia. Key knowledge gaps are identified, including the potential role of short breaks in supporting the person with dementia during the transition to residential care, and in helping carers adjust to this new phase of caregiving. Future research could also examine the best ways to capture and monitor short break needs over time, including during Carers' Assessments and other short break conversations.
Keywords: caregiving dynamics, Caregiving career, Dementia, short breaks, Respite, Support planning
Received: 26 Feb 2025; Accepted: 22 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Caulfield and Seddon. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Maria Caulfield, m.c.caulfield@bradford.ac.uk
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