Uk

Objective. The aim of the present study was to investigate the economic validity of using a psychological intervention in the management of sickle cell disease (SCD). Thomas et al . ( Br J Health Psychol 1999; 4: 209-29) concluded that cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) appears to be immediately effective for the management of SCD pain in terms of reducing psychological distress pain as well as improving coping. Method. The costs of management of SCD were evaluated using a societal viewpoint.

The UK children's commissioners met with 50 children who offered their questions about policy & personal experiences to be answered by the panel. Youths from organizations including the Liverpool Dyslexia Project & Barnardo's Action with Young Carers looked to the panel for more inclusion & further action to benefit their causes. 

Access to regular, high-quality respite care has a beneficial impact on a carer’s ability to fulfil their caring role, but provision varies widely. The current study aims to report family and informal carers’ perceptions of respite care services offered to them by their local authority. A mixed method, triangulated design, yielded both quantitative and qualitative data. Members of a parent/carer federation were sent a questionnaire which included a section on ‘respite care’; 151 of 647 responded. Two focus groups were held with 15 carers who had previously completed the questionnaire.

The Carers and Disabled Children Act (2000) has the potential to fundamentally change carers services and the way they are currently delivered. As yet, there is little published work that considers the implications of this Act either for local authorities or informal carers themselves. This paper examines the practical issues involved in the implementation of the Act in terms of: providing equitable services, defining terms, young carers and care package limits, local authority eligibility criteria and whether funding is adequate.

Despite evidence of high psychological distress and unmet needs, evaluated interventions for informal caregivers in palliative care are few. This study involved an observational outcome evaluation of attendees, and a comparison group, in specialist home palliative care. The measures included carer psychological status and patient physical status at baseline, 8 weeks, and 20 weeks. Qualitative data were collected regarding content, satisfaction with, and impact of intervention. Process data described the uptake, resources, and group activity.

Aims: The worldwide phenomenon of an ageing population has considerable consequences for health and health care; leading to greater demand for long-term care and support from families for older relatives. In the UK this, together with the preference for dependent older people to be cared for in the community, has led to the growth of intermediate care services (ICS) that bridge hospital and home offering rehabilitation and care. However, there has been limited in-depth exploration of carer perspectives of these services.

This paper explores the care-giving experiences of informal carers in cancer contexts, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data generated in a 3 year study in the UK on the psychosocial needs of cancer patients and their main carers. The study adopted a sociological approach to psychosocial needs, in contrast to dominant psychological and psychiatric perspectives on such needs in psycho-oncology.

There is a paucity of information regarding the extent and nature of caring provided by minority ethnic communities. The proportion of older people from these communities will dramatically increase in the next 20 years, which will be accompanied by increasing health and social care needs and an increased demand for carers. A qualitative, exploratory study was conducted to identify the health and social care needs of informal carers, who were caring for a dependent adult from a Bangladeshi community in South Wales, UK.