Family support

Background The increase in the number of people with dementia in the coming years will be significant and could be as high as 132,000 people by 2041. There is a growing need for enhanced post diagnostic supports for patients living with dementia and their families.

Background Recent studies indicate that informal caregivers provide support to family members who are undergoing haemodialysis although the amount and type of activities provided and the burden of this is not well‐known. Objectives To analyse the burden and support activities of informal caregivers caring for adults receiving haemodialysis. Methods A cross‐sectional study recruited 178 adult informal caregivers (family members or close friends) of patients who had been undergoing haemodialysis for more than three months.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To review the evolution of family support movement for schizophrenia in India and to report perspectives of family caregivers who are running family support groups across the country in the backdrop of recent legislations in India. RECENT FINDINGS: Family support movement started in the 1990s, mostly by family caregivers independently in multiple cities across the country. Apart from periodic support meetings, they have successfully influenced recent legislations to address the felt needs of families.

Purpose: Adherence to dietary guidelines and consumption of a high-quality diet are essential to rebuild strength and to decrease tumor recurrence and mortality in patients with colorectal cancer. We examined the associations of the diet quality of patients who have colorectal cancer with the characteristics of the patients and their families, the patient's perceived barriers to following the diet, and the family's attempts to change the diet. Design: A cross-sectional study design was employed.

Objectives: This study examined whether geographical proximity is a predictor of depressive symptoms, and whether family and friend support can moderate the relationship between geographical proximity and depressive symptoms. Method: A survey of 557 adult child primary caregivers was conducted in Shanghai, China in 2013. Geographical proximity was measured as a categorical variable: coresidence, short distance (less than 30 minutes' travel time), and long distance (more than 30 minutes' travel time).

Context: The US Congress in 2010 established the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) healthcare system, expanding services for family caregivers of eligible veterans with injuries sustained or aggravated in the line of duty on or after 11 September 2001. The program includes a Caregiver Support Coordinator, stipends for caregivers, education/training, and additional services.

Carer Peer Support Workers (CPSWs) are people who have lived experience as carers/family members of persons with a mental illness, and are employed to provide support to other carers/family members. This qualitative study aimed to explore carers' experiences within a community-based CPSW pilot program in an Australian mental health service. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted with 20 carer participants in 2015, 5-10 months following their last contact with the service.

Accessible summary: Family members often support people with intellectual disabilities who display challenging behaviour. Family carers should be listened to and included in important decisions. We asked family carers how professional services had helped their relative with challenging behaviour. Family carers said that the care of people with intellectual disabilities who display challenging behaviour can be improved. Family carers sometimes felt left out of decisions and said that they needed more information.

This feasibility study aimed to identify and address the support needs of family carers (FCs) of people living with dementia and to assess whether the use of the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) intervention in home‐based care was acceptable and relevant to FCs. The CSNAT intervention comprised two FC support needs assessment visits, 7 weeks apart, plus associated actions addressing prioritised needs by the Client Care Advisors of a community care service in Western Australia in 2015.

The study examined the effect of direct and indirect stresses on the mental health of offspring caring for an aging parent. The study is based on Pearlin, Lieberman, Menaghan, and Mullan's (1981) Stress Development Model. The research examined 345 subjects, men and women aged 40-59 who filled a questionnaire sent by post within their workplace. The research findings show that the various stresses of the caregiver role are mutually connected and have a significant positive effect on the mental health of caregiving offspring.