Scopus scopus - exported 1/8/16

OBJECTIVE: Within the last few years, a small number of German cost analyses of patients treated in community mental health care settings was presented. None of these studies, however, examined direct health care costs of the patients' close reference persons focusing on costs associated with providing informal care.

Introduction: Informal caring networks contribute significantly to end-of-life (EOL) care in the community. However, to ensure that these networks are sustainable, and unpaid carers are not exploited, primary carers need permission and practical assistance to gather networks together and negotiate the help they need. Our aim in this study was to develop an understanding of how formal and informal carers work together when care is being provided in a dying person's home.

The aim of this article is to describe the development and initial validation of an instrument for comprehensively identifying the information needs state of individuals who performed the role of informal carers. This study used two phases: a qualitative phase for the generation and review of an item pool (data collected from nine informal carers) and a quantitative phase (data collected from 198 informal carers) for items reduction and evaluation through exploratory factor analysis, and assessed validity and reliability.

This paper presents results of user evaluations with a socially assistive robot companion for older people suffering from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and living (alone) at home. Within the European FP7 project “CompanionAble” (2008-2012) [1], we developed assistive technologies combining a mobile robot and smart environment with the aim to support these people and assist them living in their familiar home environment.

Performing basic activities of daily living (ADLs) is one of the major difficulties encountered in dementia, which can have considerable negative impacts on the quality of life (QoL) of people with dementia (PwD). However, the extent to which basic ADL performance deteriorates across mild, moderate, and severe dementia is little examined and its impact, together with depression and neuropsychiatric behavior, upon QoL, is of considerable relevance across European countries.

The impact of a disease on a patient has become an important outcome measure in medicine and health care. More recently, increasing attention has also been paid to the impact on informal caregivers of someone with a long-term disease. Carers or caregivers play an important role in the care of chronically ill patients, particularly because there is an increase in the number of people with a long-term condition. Vitaliano et al.

Huntington's disease is a genetic, neurological disorder characterized by mid-life onset, involuntary movements, cognitive decline, behavioral disturbance, and inexorable progression. The impact of Huntington's disease is devastating for individuals and their families as it is a disease with a long trajectory; many young people are aware that they may develop the illness for years before there are obvious symptoms. There is therefore ample opportunity to plan and choreograph the care and supportive services for people with Huntington's disease and their families.

Informal carers are enormously involved in giving care to their disabled or needy relatives or acquaintances. To care can go along with positive private and health effects. Nevertheless it is proven that informal carers are under a greater risk to suffer from health problems, social isolation and restrictions in professional life. The primary care team can take on a key role by providing support to informal carers. To identify those carers and their burden is essential.

GPs regularly encounter informal carers who, despite their legal rights to support, find it difficult to access the help available to them and receive little or no assistance. Increasing attention is being given to ‘hidden’ carers, who seem particularly unlikely to access support.