carers

We conducted a systematic review of studies employing telehealth interventions which focused on family caregivers’ outcomes. The Embase, CINHAL, Cochrane and PubMed databases were searched using combinations of keywords including “telehealth,” “telemedicine,” “telecare,” “telemonitoring,” “caregiver” and “family.” The initial search produced 4205 articles, of which 65 articles met the inclusion criteria. The articles included 52 experimental studies, 11 evaluation studies, one case study and one secondary analysis.

Luke Clements is full of praise for the guidance accompanying the Carers and Disabled Children Act, which spells out, among other things, which carers are entitled to assessments and services.

The systematic review methodology literature refers to the importance of involving stakeholders, including service users and carers, in the research. However, compared with other aspects of the methodology, this aspect of conducting systematic reviews is underdeveloped and the practice of involvement appears highly variable. This article draws on the experience of working with service users and carers in one systematic review to review the barriers to participation and the components of effective involvement.

This article explores the experiences of family carers of older people in using support services in six European countries: Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the UK. Following a common protocol, data were collected from national samples of approximately 1,000 family carers per country and clustered into comparable subgroups to facilitate cross-national analysis. Carers' use of available support services is limited across Europe but is considerably higher in Germany, Sweden, and the UK than in Poland, Greece, and Italy.

Woods and forests can enhance the psychological well-being with early stage dementia. In this article, the author reports on initial findings from a pilot programme of activities based in an urban woodland setting for people with early stage dementia. Activities included woodland walks, tree planting, nature photography, fire lighting and woodland cookery. Data were collected through observing the activities and interviewing the people with dementia, carers and staff at the end of the 10-week programme.

Direct payments can now be made to older people. But a 12-month research project has revealed that service users, carers and junior staff still have little knowledge of them. The authors of the Shield research team, Anglia Polytechnic University, and Tower Hamlets Coalition of Disabled People explain that service users are cautiously optimistic about what direct payments offer them but are anxious about the practicalities.

This guideline covers interventions and support for children, young people and adults with a learning disability and behaviour that challenges. It highlights the importance of understanding the cause of behaviour that challenges, and performing thorough assessments so that steps can be taken to help people change their behaviour and improve their quality of life. The guideline also covers support and intervention for family members or carers.

After a damning report [The state of social care in England 2005-6] which revealed the increasing burden on friends and family members who support people with care needs, Amy Taylor, Mary Garboden and Simeon Brody look at the reasons behind the crisis and whether it is retrievable.