For the caregiver, a respite experience is one way to mitigate the negative consequences of caregiving. In this interpretive study, based on narrative inquiry and using grounded theory analytical methods, 10 caregivers described the respite experience as a cognitive process of getting out of the caregiver world and into their own world. In this world, theyfeelfreefrom the responsibilities and the worries of caregiving-the quintessential meaning of respite to these caregivers. Factors influencing the caregivers'abilities to experience this respite include the nature of the pre-illness relationship between the caregivers and their dependentfamily members, role expectations, the attributes of the available respite services, and time. Thesefindings provide a criticalfirst step in understanding why the respite experience may be so difficultfor some caregivers to achieve and their continuing hesitancy to use respite services even when these services are available.
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