carers

Objective: The Aide dans la Maladie d'Alzheimer (AIDMA) study was conducted to determine whether a psycho-educational programme (PEP) for primary caregivers in addition to standard anti-dementia drugs for patients improves caregivers' psychological condition and patients' activities of daily life.

For sufferers of dementia and their carers, there are many questions to be answered; not only about what the long term will bring, but also simply how to cope with the unfolding of everyday living. In our first article, Graham Stokes looks at some of the practicalities of coping with the illness and offers useful tips and advice that will hopefully provide some reassurance and pointers for managing day‐to‐day tasks more easily.

More than three-fourths of older adults with developmental disabilities and mental illness live in the community with aging parents, the majority of whom do not complete plans for the residential, financial, and legal future of their offspring. The authors used a true experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness of a six-week psychoeducational group intervention with 27 older mothers. Data collected in pre- and posttest telephone interviews were analyzed with repeated measures MANCOVA to test five hypotheses.

The approaching financial challenges within health and social care are well heralded and will inevitably cause strain in the care system. It is likely that in the name of efficiency there will be reductions in hospital in-patient stays and a reluctance by local authorities to extend their provision for those with significant care needs. Indeed, the context is being set for further exploitation of carers in the coming years.

Suggests that language barriers may prevent Bangladeshi informal carers from accessing statutory services in South Wales. Suggestion that informal carers in Bangladeshi communities see their role as an "honor and a privilege," but have limited access to statutory services, often because of language problems; Health and social needs of people caring for dependent adults within a Bangladeshi community.

Up to £6 million will be made available over the next four years to help GPs identify carers earlier, Care Services Minister Paul Burstow announced in November.

Speaking at the Carers UK Summit, Mr Burstow outlined a series of measures to further support carers as he launched ‘Recognised, valued and supported: Next Steps for the Carers Strategy.’

This article describes a nurse led service operating on three adult acute psychiatric wards in a hospital in South London. On each ward a member of the regular nursing staff spends one day meeting with families and carers. A case is made for the need for such a service, and its aims are described. An example of a series of meetings with the relatives of one patient is given, illustrating the benefits of this type of service.

Examines the way in which a vital part of the system penalises carers, particularly parents whose children need supported independence. Looks at the often obstructive way housing benefit rules are interpreted, and at a recent legal decision which may make life easier for parents wanting to provide accommodation for their children.

Social networks are seen to influence the use of health and social care services. In a secondary analysis of data from a longitudinal study of befriending of carers of people with dementia, the authors studied the relationship between network type and support from family/friends, voluntary sector befriending and residential/nursing care. Using Wenger's typology of social networks, finding suggest that the pattern of support use varies by differences in the structure of networks.