ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the contribution highlights knowledge about caregivers’ use of services aimed at reducing their stress and burden. It suggests some potential ways that research in this area could be refined to more adequately address important practical questions concerning service delivery, as well as to address a variety of intriguing social psychological phenomena. The cognitive decision-making approach offered underscores the importance of examining this problem from the point of view of the caregiver. The formal services that have been designed for caregivers can be categorized into two basic types, psycho-educational and respite. An experimental evaluation of the effects of respite care on the well-being of dementia caregivers revealed a pattern of low usage of these services. Cognitive models of decision making in health-related contexts could offer some guidance into the development of a problem-solving approach to the study of service use. Social scientists interested in health have made the distinction between illness and illness behavior.
