Aged

Currently, more than one in 10 Americans are caregivers, and projections suggest exponential increases in caregiving in the years ahead. Not only is the population growing older, but the spike, in particular, created by the aging of some 78 million baby boomers portends far greater demand. Families continue to represent the lion’s share of caregivers and their caregiving efforts are substantial in every sense of the word. 

How do carer support programmes meet the needs of those caring for dependent mentally ill older people? Julie Hall reviews the evidence.

The objective of this pilot Norwegian intervention study was to explore whether use of information and communication technology (ICT) by informal carers of frail elderly people living at home would enable them to gain more knowledge about chronic illness, caring and coping, establish an informal support network and reduce stress and related mental health problems.

A cross-sectional postal survey of bereaved carers was conducted in order to examine levels of satisfaction with services provided for people in their last year of life in the rural county of Powys, Wales, UK. A self-complete questionnaire, using a modified version of the Views of Informal Carers – Evaluation of Services instrument was sent to all bereaved carers of all those people dying of cancer in Powys between 1 April 1999 and 30 June 2001. Eight hundred and five (out of a possible of 815 people) were contacted and 407 agreed to receive the questionnaire.

Population forecasters have predicted that the proportion of people in the UK aged 65 years and older will rise significantly in coming decades. This shift in demographics will put increasing pressure on the National Health Service and providers of social care. However, older people do not rely only on care provided by the state; informal care of the elderly is often supplied by family and friends. Therefore, the relationship between formal and informal care and the reaction of informal carers to institutional changes is an important policy issue.

Risk is a central defining feature and area of concern in adult social care provision, but what do we actually know about how service users, carers and practitioners define and manage risk? This question is increasingly important as current policy advocates greater service user choice and control through a range of self-directed support mechanisms, and statutory duties and professional boundaries are challenged.

Informal carers of an adult with mental illness have asked that respite care be an integral component of mental health service provision. The present study involved a pilot investigation of the effectiveness of accessing respite care for carers of individuals with a mental illness. It was hypothesised that compared to carers who have not accessed respite care, carers who access respite care would report lower burden and distress, higher life satisfaction and better health after their use of respite care.

Diabetes can impose a substantial health burden on older people and their informal carers. If there is evidence of sub-optimal care planning, a lack of empowerment, or under-skilling of those delivering direct diabetes care to this group, independence of the individual will be under threat. This substantially increases the risk of a serious adverse outcome, for example hospital or care home admission.