The purpose of this study was to describe nurses' experiences of their collaboration and relationships with family members in institutional respite care for the elderly. The family has a particularly important role in respite care, which is an extension of care provided at home. However no published studies were found on this subject. The data were collected through qualitative interviews ( ). Content analysis of the nurses’ descriptions of their collaboration with family members yielded four main categories as follows: (1) conscious ignoring, (2) attempting to understand the family’s situation, (3) hinting at private family matters, and (4) being a friend. The results lend support to earlier findings which emphasize the complexity of relationships between nurses and family carers. A novel finding here is that these relationships may also develop into friendships. Greater emphasis must be placed on primary nursing so that the nurse and informal carer can build up a genuine relationship of trust. If periods of respite care are to help older people and their families to manage independently, it is imperative that nurses have the opportunity to visit their patients at home. 1. Introduction Supporting family carers is a globally recognized objective in elderly care [1]. Nevertheless the development of appropriate services has been a relatively slow process, and the main focus in those services is still on the needs of the care recipient [2]. Finland’s population is ageing faster than in any other country in the European Union; latest figures [3] put the number of people aged 65 or over at 941 041, or 17,5 % of the population. The target set in the national old age policy strategy is that 91-92% of the population over 75 should be able to live at home either independently or with the support of social and health care services and/or family members. One of the major elements of the national old age strategy is a support mechanism for informal care, which is governed in Finland by legislation (937/2005). Support is granted mainly on grounds of need for help and on how closely the carer is tied to care provision. Support for informal care includes both a cash benefit (min. 364, max. 729 euros per month) and the right to take three days off each month. The sums earmarked for the benefit vary from one municipality to the next depending on their financial situation, which means that informal carers in different parts of the country are not in an equal position. Informal care is of great importance to the national economy. Estimates for 2006 suggest that without
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