Views

Report using carers' experiences to assess the effectiveness and value of the direct payments system and make recommendations for improvements.

The views of people with experiences of using services and the views of their carers about the 2005 Mental Capacity Act (England and Wales) are reported in this article. Interviews with ten people about the detail of the Act prior to its implementation revealed that they welcomed the principles of the Act, and were able to relate these to aspects of their experiences. The Act's framework for planning around care and treatment and for making advance decisions was seen as offering greater choice and empowerment.

Relatives or carers of people with mental health problems have criticised professionals for their failures to share information with them. This article reports on a multiple method study comprising a policy search, a survey of service users, carers and professionals, and stakeholder interviews and group events. The study found new policies that addressed the principles underpinning information sharing with carers. However, examples of good practice in professional involvement of carers that took account of carer rights and responsibilities emerged from the research.

Objectives: Identify factors of informal caregivers, caregiving, and people with multiple sclerosis (MS) receiving assistance that are associated with perceptions of caregiver accomplishment. Methods: National data were collected in a telephone interview survey of 530 informal caregivers and analyzed using an ordered logistic regression model to identify factors associated with perceptions of caregiver accomplishment among 442 of these informal caregivers (caregivers providing all data in their survey responses needed for the regression model). Results: We found t