Social care online

A person with learning disabilities may need extra consideration and support from the NHS, as a patient, visitor or employee. Adapting information, communication and other aspects of care for them will help ensure services are also friendly to anyone who has difficulties with written or spoken English. This is a guide to support the NHS to include people with learning disabilities in their equality schemes, with practical examples of reasonable adjustments to achieve equality of access.

Reviews policy trends for informal carers which have been implemented in various countries between 1996 - 1998. The article focuses on respite care and direct payments for carers of older ill and disabled adults.

Joanne Schofield and Jack Buckley Mellor explain the value of having a carer available to offer support to other carers with relatives on a continuing care ward

Summary: Over-generalization of the ‘effectiveness hierarchy’, and echoes of past paradigm wars about methodology, persist in generating conflicting judgements about the value of different research designs for evidence-based practice. A range of ways in which the worth of research is actually judged, and might be judged, are elaborated.

Background  Prevalence of pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) may be higher in women with Down syndrome due to syndrome specific characteristics in biochemistry, psychopathology and lifestyle. Recognition of PMS may be difficult for women with intellectual disabilities and their carers.

Method  A daily diary, used to diagnose PMS with typical women, was adapted. Following its validation, the diary was completed by 33 women with Down syndrome, then adapted, and completed by a further 32 women with Down syndrome/carers.

Objective: Information on the shortened, 20-item version of the Perceived Social Support Scale (S-PSSS) is scarce. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the S-PSSS Family (SSfa) and Friends (SSfr) subscales. Method: Because of their common coping method of social support, a cross-sectional sample of Alzheimer’s caregivers was relevant for this evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: To measure and compare the burden on spousal carers of patients with and without dementia who were consulting a memory clinic for the first time.

The voluntary and community sector (VCS) has a long tradition of providing services directly to the community and specific client groups. In doing so, the VCS has built up a reputation for diversity and innovation and for meeting the needs of people who often fall outside of the so-called mainstream health and social care system. People’s expectations of public services generally and the NHS in particular are increasing year on year. A one-size fits all approach is no longer acceptable.

Objectives: To review current understanding of the knowledge and information needs of informal caregivers in palliative settings. Data sources: Seven electronic databases were searched for the period January 1994–November 2006: Medline, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Embase, Ovid, Zetoc and Pubmed using a meta-search engine (Metalib®). Key journals and reference lists of selected papers were hand searched. Review methods: Included studies were peer-reviewed journal articles presenting original research.