Patients : psychology

Objective:The consequences of informal care giving have been well documented in recent decades, and in many fields of illness and chronic disease, the role of informal carers has been recognised and investigated. Informal caregivers in the field of wound management and prevention have been largely unnoticed, despite the chronic nature of many wounds, the enduring nature of treatments and the impact on the physical and social environment; factors likely to have a significant impact on family and friends.

Purpose: Our objective in this analysis was to determine how the duration of caregiving interacts with key care demands (i.e., severity of problem behaviors) to influence the institutionalization of individuals suffering from dementia. Methods: We utilized multiregional data from 4,761 caregivers of individuals with dementia over a 3-year period. We conducted multinomial logistic and Cox proportional hazards analyses to determine the moderating effects of duration on behavior problems when institutionalization was predicted.

To examine the effects of caregiver's burden, depression, and support on post-stroke depression (PSD), cross-sectional data were obtained from an epidemiologic survey of 225 stroke survivors and their caregivers living in Seoul, Korea. Multivariate analyses showed that, taking the clinical status of patients into account, caregiver's burden, depression and support were related to higher PSD. Perceived burden exerts adverse effects on PSD through its influence on the depression in caregivers.

Health professionals such as nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists provide a wealth of support in the community to patients and their carers receiving palliative care. Moving and handling is one such support that needs careful consideration and assessment including risk, by appropriately qualified professionals. A combination of skills are required as well as knowledge of up to date equipment to assist the health professional in deciding how to formulate safe moving and handling interventions in a timely way.

Aim.  The aim of this study is to describe the experience of caregivers of individuals who have had a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Background.  Decreased lengths of hospital stay and an increased emphasis on chronic disease self-management increase the importance of carers in assisting in recovery and lifestyle modification.

Design.  Cross-sectional dual-moderated focus group design.

Caregiving is one of the most important personal sacrifices family members make for their older loved ones. There are at least 43.5 million caregivers in the United States who provide informal family caregiving, averaging about 19 hours of care per week, for an average of 4 years.1 Although family members, especially spouses and adult children, usually occupy these caregiving roles, in diverse cultural and ethnic groups with collectivistic values, caregivers also may be fictive kin (relatives not related by blood, such as godchildren, family friends, or neighbors).

Purpose/Objectives: To explore linkages among empathic responding by informal caregivers with the physical symptom experiences and psychological distress of patients with ovarian cancer. Design: Preliminary, descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional. Setting: Psychosocial oncology support group in Canada. Sample: Convenience sample of 13 women with stage I-IV ovarian cancer with the majority diagnosed with disease recurrence. Methods: Data were collected on a single telephone call using the Hospital A