In 2012, four sites around Ireland received funding to develop a range of innovative community responses which would enable people with dementia to remain in their homes for as long as possible, living full and active lives. This initiative was developed as part of a programme of work funded by the Health Service Executive and the Atlantic Philanthropies to create, expand and improve community-based dementia services in Ireland. Alongside the innovative work being carried out in four sites, a complementary programme of research and evaluation was commissioned to evaluate the new developments and to collect preliminary evidence on which to develop future dementia services.

This report describes an evaluation of an innovative respite initiative in one of the sites based in Stillorgan and Blackrock, Co. Dublin, exploring the effectiveness of the respite initiatives developed and identifying the obstacles and facilitators to the use of respite care for people with dementia and their families. Based on discussions with people with dementia and family carers, a number of community-based supports were developed to meet the needs of both the person and carer and this report presents an evaluation of one of these, an activity/exercise group. The evaluation was carried out in the very early stages of the development of these community supports, involving nine people with dementia, eight family carers and one formal carer. Although it is a small scale exploratory study, the use of mixed methods, capturing both quantitative and rich qualitative data, provides new insights into the individual’s experience of living with dementia, the caregiving role and the impact of this initiative on both.

The report findings that the repite options offered addressed a variety of complex needs for both the person and the carer, often in different ways. Mainstream recreational and social activities coupled with an innovative transport solution, produced a range of positive outcomes for the person and the carers. The family carers particularly welcomed the structured and integrated aspect of the programme, combining physical exercise, psycho-social stimulation, carer support groups, transport provision and key contact workers. The report captures peoples’ experience of this initiative at a very early point in time and when respite supports were at a very early stage of development in this site. Suggestions for changes to the programme have already been incorporated and a further range of respite supports and services have now been put in place and are being continuously refined in response to the unique needs of each person and family.