Approximately 18 million Americans care for ill or disabled family members. Until recently, these caregivers have been ignored as a group who might also need attention for their own health care. In addition to potential physical and psychological health consequences due to caregiver burden, caregivers often abandon or severely alter social/leisure aspects of their lives. The purpose of this research was to design a leisure wellness program that could address unique leisure needs for caregivers of older adults based on theoretical frameworks of stress and leisure. Focus group research from four regions of North Carolina was conducted to solicit expert opinions from professionals who work with or near caregivers of older adults. A total of 122 ideas were sorted into eight categories. Subsequently, a four unit, multidisciplinary model leisure wellness program was designed based on the focus group results. Recommendations for testing and future research are noted
