Informal care

Caring takes time and, as we know, time costs. With an ageing population that is living longer, there is less time and less money to be allocated to older people. This article looks at the role and contribution of informal carers to the social care system, and says that more should be done to recognise their skills and knowledge, and better support should be given to help prevent their ill-health, thus helping to reduce the rising cost of formal care to local social services. 

Objectives: Using data from a national sample of informal caregivers to older adults, we identify predictors of lack of choice and the consequences of lack of choice in taking on the caregiving role.

This report describes research that set out to measure, monitor and evaluate health inequalities associated with the provision of unpaid care. It outlines the scope and design of the project and presents the key findings. The adverse health effects of caring are primarily psychological and often manifest themselves as symptoms of anxiety, depression and social dysfunction. Caringrelated inequalities in psychological well-being are quantifiable and significant; they are most pronounced at key turning points in the caring trajectory and in the more demanding care situations.

Purpose of the Study: Findings are reported from a study that examined the effects of the Tailored Caregiver Assessment and Referral (TCARE®) protocol, a care management process designed to help family caregivers, on care planning and caregiver outcomes. Design and Methods: A longitudinal, randomized controlled trial was conducted with 97 caregivers enrolled in a demonstration project in Georgia. Data included on care plans pertaining to service recommendations, compliance, and use were reviewed.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between cultural factors and the caregiving burden of Chinese spousal caregivers who provided care to their frail partners.

Informal carers make a vital contribution to the well-being of the people they care for or look after. Against the policy background in England, the purpose of this study was to explore the views of carers who are in contact with adult social care support services. A qualitative study with 31 carers, who were recruited via local authorities and carers' organisations, was conducted between April and July 2012 to collect data on carers' experiences and perceptions of their quality of life (QoL) with and without adult social care and support for themselves or the person they look after.

This paper presents findings from an ethnographic study that examined how qualified district nurses’ conceptualized their role in relation to family carers and how they performed this aspect of their role.

A participant observational study involving fieldwork and in-depth interviews with six district nursing teams was undertaken over a 12-month period. Interview transcripts and fieldnotes were analysed by drawing upon the principles of dimensional analysis.

Supporting family carers is likely to remain at the forefront of community care policy in dementia care for the foreseeable future. However, despite extensive research in the area there is little evidence for the effectiveness of current interventions. Using data from an Australian study of how carers of people with dementia cope with the challenges they face, this article calls for a re-appraisal of the ways in which a successful intervention is defined and promotes an approach based on partnership in which carers themselves play a significant role in determining 'what works'.

Objective: To test the feasibility (for a potential randomised controlled trial) of a computer intervention for improving social interaction and promoting the mental health of rural carers.

Design: The study combined pre- and post-intervention measures with interviews to determine the feasibility of the intervention and the acceptability of the study design to participants. The intervention consisted of providing 14 rural carers with computers and a 4-week training program on basic computer skills, using email and the Internet.

OBJECTIVE: No instrument has been developed and validated across cultures to measure the degree of support provided by informal carers to people with schizophrenia. We aimed to develop such a measure.