Hmic

Extending choice and control for social care service users is a central feature of current English policies. However, these have comparatively little to say about choice in relation to the informal carers of relatives, friends or older people who are disabled or sick. To explore the realities of choice as experienced by carers, the present paper reviews research published in English since 1985 about three situations in which carers are likely to face choices: receiving social services; the entry of an older person to long-term care; and combining paid work and care.

Background: Spouses' involvement in palliative care is often a prerequisite for home death, but it is unclear whether active involvement of the spouse, e.g. administering and being in charge of oral or subcutaneous medication or taking care of the patient's personal hygiene, could be harmful or have negative effects on the spouse's experience of the palliative course of disease. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of bereaved spouses' active involvement in medical and physical care on their experience of the palliative course of disease.

This study investigates how (a) the reliance on public care and (b) the type of public care received by older people in the Netherlands depends on the availability of partners and adult children. Older people aged 65 years and older were surveyed in the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study at two time-points. Survey results were linked to registry data on public care receipt at the two time-points. Multilevel models revealed that receiving frequent help in the household from children was not associated with public care receipt. Only men having a partner were less likely to receive public care.

Background: There has been limited research on the role of financial strain on the adjustment of people with multiple sclerosis.

Aims: This study examined the financial costs of MS and the impact of financial strain on the quality of life and adjustment of people with MS and their families.

Methods: Interviews were conducted with 16 health professionals, 26 people with MS and 11 family members of people who have MS.

This is a report to government. The Task Force membership comprised representation from central and local government, professional bodies and third sector organisations.

The Taskforce feels strongly that the recognition of carers role and contribution is a priority and essential to achieving equality for carers, and this is reflected in the recommendations.

In this chapter the author recounts her personal experiences of being a carer for her son and her interaction with social services in Scotland. The author's son is now over 30 years old and is on the autistic spectrum, has obsessive compulsive disorder and a learning disability. She recounts the early difficulties she had in dealing with health and educational professionals as she tried to achieve the best possible care for her son. Many of the professionals she encountered were unable to appreciate the importance of integrating her son into as many normal daily activities as possible.

BACKGROUND: There is a growing appreciation of the role and needs of carers for people with mental health problems. Carers are a diverse group, including partners, relatives and friends who are seen as such by service users.

This article draws on findings from a three-year project to develop and deliver culturally appropriate support group materials for South Asian and Eastern European family carers of relatives with dementia living in the UK. Analysis of interview and field note data revealed insights into how understandings of dementia in different cultural contexts can become operationalised through stigma processes and in turn influence the ways in which people with dementia and their family carers engage with formal and informal support. 

Carers can be defined as someone who ‘spends a significant proportion of their life providing unpaid support to family or potentially friends. This could be caring for a relative, partner or friend who is ill , frail , disabled or has mental health or substance misuse problems.1 Such carers are not to be confused with paid carers (often described as Care workers, Senior care workers, community support, outreach workers and personal assistants). However, those employed in such roles may also be carers in their own time for friends or family.

Swaleh Toofany examines the evolution and possible future options for hospital at home schemes

Healthcare providers are under pressure to deliver cost-effective care to a population that is ageing. Increased longevity means the number of patients with long-term conditions and chronic illness is growing. Expanding the range of services delivered to patients in their homes may provide a solution by keeping patients out of hospital.