Caregivers -- education

Life review (LR) therapy has received considerable support as an effective treatment for depression among older adults. Researchers believe that providing LR does not require extensive training and can be done by family members who are not psychiatric professionals. If so, then training family caregivers to provide LR is a potential strategy for alleviating the shortage of resources for treating depression among the growing population of older adults experiencing depression. A pilot study that explored the feasibility of that strategy had mixed results.

BACKGROUND: More than 16 million men in the United States are acting in the role of family caregiver. Men are usually viewed as not being caring simply because they provide care differently than women. However, this is not the case. OBJECTIVES: This article explores male caregiving from the perspective of family and professional roles. METHODS: A review of the literature related to men in the caregiving role was conducted. This review included only men providing care to a family member and was limited to men caring for an adult.

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.

Aim.  This paper is a report of a study conducted to develop a multimedia computer-assisted instruction for informal carers and test its content validity, user difficulty and user satisfaction.

Background.  Healthy ageing is an increasingly important public health target globally. Changes in technology offer the opportunity for e-health promotion as a means of educating populations and healthcare staff to meet public health targets.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a practical, easily implemented, educational intervention in group format for informal carers of persons with dementia. Methods: Multi-centre, randomised, controlled, single-blind trial involving 292 family caregivers of patients with moderate dementia in Alzheimer's disease. Results: Participants valued program components which had a practical impact on their caring role. The intervention achieved minor effects on the participants' psychological quality of life and did not reduce carer depression.

Objectives: To explore the impact of two methods of post-hospital stroke rehabilitation on both carers' perceptions of the health services offered and their quality of life.

Setting: East Dorset Health Authority.

Subjects: Forty-six informal carers were recruited from a sample of 106, initially identified from stroke patients participating in a larger randomized controlled trial.

Design: Qualitative methods.