Partners

Longitudinal research on caregiver burden related to mental disorders based on representative samples is scarce. Previous results on the development of burden over time are inconsistent. This article aims to establish whether change in mental disorder status in the index persons predicts subjective burden in their spouses in terms of changed mental health over a period of 11 years.

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a condition that causes individuals considerable distress. It also presents a significant challenge to the health service and is often viewed by clinicians as frustrating to manage. The purpose of the present paper is to explore the experiences of individuals in the immediate social sphere of those suffering from CLBP and their role in care-giving for their partner. An approach was taken using two qualitative research methods to gather data: journals and focus groups.

The article argues that caring within lesbian relationships has been ignored in social and health care studies and practice. It critiques the dominance of caring debates by relationships between parents and children and partnerships, but with the unspoken presumption that those involved are heterosexual. The paper concludes that social workers should engage with lesbian carers in supporting individuals and networks. It draws out a range of implications for policy, practice and research agendas.

Future increases in need of old-age care warrant research on receipt of informal care among older people in different policy and cultural contexts. Separating informal care into help provided by spouse and by children may shed more light on dynamics of informal help, important in alleviating the demands on the formal sector. Using nationally representative data from England and Finland, we performed logistic regression analyses to study receipt of help from spouse and children among community-dwelling persons aged 70+ years with functional limitations.

Purpose: This study examined activity changes in female carers for working-age husbands with mild to moderate stroke. It explored whether carers who reduced or quitted some of their valued activities had more burden and decreased health compared with other carers who continued their valued activities.