Attitudes

Background: Lack of effective treatments for chronic conditions is associated with high rates of complementary medicine (CM) use. However, little is known about CM use for dementia.Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences, motivations, and attitudes towards CM use by people living with dementia in an Australian setting. Design: This study had a qualitative research design; quantitative demographic information was also collected.

Background/Objectives: Advance care planning (ACP) traditionally involves asking individuals about their treatment preferences during a brief period of incapacity near the end of life. Because dementia leads to prolonged incapacity, with many decisions arising before a terminal event, it has been suggested that dementia‐specific ACP is necessary. We sought to elicit the perspectives of older adults with early cognitive impairment and their caregivers on traditional and dementia‐specific ACP. Design Qualitative study with separate focus groups for patients and caregivers.

Background Limited comprehension of the concept of palliative care and misconceptions about it are barriers to meaningful utilisation of palliative care programs. As caregivers play an integral role for patients with terminal illness, it is necessary to assess their perceptions and attitudes towards the palliative care approach. Method A cross-sectional survey was conducted. Data was collected from the Aga Khan Hospital in-patient and out-patient departments and home-based palliative care services.

Background and Objectives Arts activities can improve social connectedness and foster reciprocity between people living with dementia and their caregivers. The extent to which the arts can help shape attitudes towards dementia remains unclear. This paper explores the impact of a 12-week visual arts program "Dementia and Imagination" on the attitudes of family and professional caregivers through a mixed-methods longitudinal investigation, underpinned by a conceptual framework of the arts in dementia care.

Background There is a lack of good-quality instruments measuring stigma experienced by family members of stigmatised people. Aims To develop a self-report measure of stigma among families of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and examine associations between family stigma and other variables. Method The new Family Stigma Instrument (FAMSI) was tested with 407 family carers, 53% of whose offspring had an autism spectrum disorder in addition to intellectual disability.

Backgrounds Breast cancer is a global threat to all women, especially those having close relatives with breast cancer. Women who were caregivers to relatives with breast cancer are more vulnerable to stress caused by the perception of heightened risk of cancer. Because health measures and breast health are affected by cultural beliefs and social status, information about breast cancer should consider the cultural beliefs and values of the society.

Family carers are a crucial resource in the care and support of people with dementia, but their motivations for caring can make the difference between success and failure. The author discusses his study of support workers' views on the way motivations can change and undermine carers' health.

Head and neck cancer is a serious form of cancer that can generate substantial physical and psychosocial morbidity. Informal caregivers can help patients to manage head and neck cancer and its emotional impacts, both during and after treatment. Caregivers, however, can experience considerable stress as a result of their caring activities. Supportive relationships can protect caregivers from psychosocial strain.

This study examined how patients with cancer estimate caregiver burden (CB) and the association between their underestimation of CB and their caregivers' self‐ratings of their quality of life (CQOLC‐K; Korean version of the Caregiver Quality of Life Index‐Cancer), depression and anxiety (Korean version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). Participants consisted of 990 patient‐caregiver dyads recruited from a nationwide cross‐sectional survey conducted in South Korea. Medical baseline data were retrieved from the hospital information systems of the participating centres.

In Finland, the care of older persons is shifting from institutional care to family care. Research shows that family caregivers experience their situation much in the same way as professional nurses. The nurses' experiences have been studied in terms of vulnerability, and the same perspective could deepen our understanding of family caregivers' experiences. The aim of this study was to gain knowledge of the vulnerability of older caregivers taking care of an ageing family member. The research questions were as follows: How do family caregivers experience vulnerability?