carers

In a cross-sectional survey, the authors assessed the attitudes of older patients and their carers towards receiving copies of letters about them and the effects upon outcomes of sharing letters. They also studied the opinions of consultants on letter-sharing. The results were few old age psychiatrists shared letters with patients or carers, and many had concerns about this practice. In contrast, letters were considered 'very welcome' by 87% of patients and carers who received them, and 81% of those who did not would be 'very pleased' to receive them.

PURPOSE: (1) Describe the challenges facing relatives of persons with stroke in accomplishing their daily activities and social roles (participation). (2) Reflect on the role of rehabilitation for relatives and ethical issues that may emerge following the adoption of a family-centred approach.

This qualitative study aimed to explore an under-researched issue within the emerging body of research about carers and personalisation - the carer-service user relationship. It was carried out across 11 English local authorities between 2011 and 2012 and focused on the impact of a change in the service user's social care arrangements to a personal budget on this relationship.

This article develops an approach towards dementia care that highlights the nature of dementia care triads comprising the person with dementia, their informal carer, and the health and social professional. In particular, the article highlights various social practices that are shown, from our practice, to contribute towards the inclusion or exclusion of particular triad members. The article reviews existing work on triadic interaction, particularly in relationship to dementia care. Various communication processes are identified and illustrated using examples taken from casework.

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that family and professional caregivers have different views about what constitutes elder abuse.

Design: A vignette was given to family and professional carers. They were asked to rate 13 management strategies for behavioural difficulties in a person with dementia on a Likert scale ranging from good idea to abusive. Some of the strategies were abusive according to the Department of Health's ‘No Secrets’ definition.

Many people with dementia are cared for by family members, who will receive little advice or support. This article describes a course developed to help carers deal with frustrating and challenging behaviour. The course provides an overview of dementia, provides coping strategies for carers and introduces cares to mindfulness meditation to help them deal with stress.

In this fourth of five articles on developing a benchmarking tool for person-centred care, Caroline Baker, Paul Edwards and Tracy Packer describe the last two factors: carer involvement and organisational strategy.

Objective: To explore factors that influence how informal caregivers manage medications as part of caring for hospice patients.

Methods: Semistructured, open-ended interviews were conducted with 23 informal caregivers and 22 hospice providers from 4 hospice programs in the Chicago metropolitan areas. Qualitative analysis was conducted consistent with the grounded theory approach.

Planning for the future for those adults with a learning disability who live with older carers is an important aspect of the White Paper Valuing People (DoH, 2001). Indeed, such planning is essential if crisis situations are to be avoided, particularly the double shock to service users of losing their home at a time when they are also bereaved. Most research about future planning has tended to focus on the perspective of the family carer rather than that of the service user.

Objective: We wanted to explore possible associations between characteristics of carers, dementia sufferers and the caring situation and the presence of abuse that was acknowledged by carers.

Methods: Eighty-two carers of dementia sufferers were interviewed in their homes about three types of abuse (verbal abuse, physical abuse and neglect) using a structured questionnaire.