Descriptive statistics

Background: People with multiple sclerosis (MS) often require full-time care, which may be provided by informal carers. Respite becomes a vital part of carers' lives allowing temporary relief. Little attention in the literature is given to the people who experience respite care. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the views of respite care by MS patients and their carers. Method: A cross sectional survey was conducted in Northern Ireland, one questionnaire for patients and another for carers.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify time caring, burden and health status in carers of stroke patients after discharge from rehabilitation; to identify the potentially modifiable sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with these outcomes. METHODS: Patients and carers prospectively interviewed 6 (n=71) and 12 (n=57) months after discharge. Relationships of carer and patient variables with burden, health status and time analysed by Gaussian and Poisson regression. RESULTS: Carers showed considerable burden at 6 and 12 months.

This paper reports a survey of 75 organisations commissioning and providing secondary mental health services regarding their policies and practice in respect of payment to mental health services users and informal carers for expenses and their time when participating in the design, development, delivery and monitoring of services. A wide range of statutory and non-statutory organisations was invited to participate.

Purpose. Despite increasing evidence of adverse effects on informal carers of caring for stroke survivors, little is known about the characteristics of carers and survivors that influence carer outcomes. The purpose of this review is to summarize factors influencing outcomes in carers of stroke survivors. Methods. A systematic review of studies identified from English language medicine, nursing and psychology databases from 1996 - 2006 was carried out. Results. Thirty-nine studies were identified. Studies from Europe and the USA investigating negative carer outcomes dominated.

PURPOSE: To establish the validity and reliability of a questionnaire measuring the experience of informal carers of patients with stroke through acute and rehabilitation hospital treatment.

There has been a great deal of attention paid to young carers in recent research, social policy and service provision. In this paper we report on a survey and interview study of 46 young people aged 15 to 18, nine of whom had experience as young carers, to explore the ways in which young people construct the young carer and their disabled parent. A key theme arising from the interview data analysis is the construction of a series of normative assumptions about 'normal' childhood through which young carers and their disabled parent are viewed as non-normative and deficient.

Aim: To investigate the gains experienced by family caregivers of persons with dementia. Methods: Twelve respondents were recruited using purposive sampling from three institutions around Singapore. A qualitative design, guided by the grounded theory approach, was adopted and involved semi-structured, in-depth, face-to-face interviews. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using open, axial and selective coding. Results: All caregivers interviewed reported having gained from caregiving.

Because of the complex nature of the problems that carers of persons with dementia encounter, several comprehensive support programs for carers were developed in the past decade. One such program is the Meeting Centres Support Program (MCSP) that integrates different types of support for persons with dementia and their carers, which have proved to be effective in practice and/or research.

This study examined a stress/coping model of adjustment in early caregiving. It was hypothesized that better adjustment would be related to higher social support and approach coping, and lower stress appraisals and avoidant coping. One hundred young carers aged 10-25 years completed questionnaires. Predictors included choice in caregiving, social support, stress appraisal and coping. Dependent variables were global distress and positive outcomes (life satisfaction, positive affect, benefits).

Objectives: To perform a psychometric evaluation of the Carers Assessment of Difficulties Index, Carers Assessment of Satisfactions Index and the Carers Assessment of Managing Index (CADI-CASI-CAMI).