carers

A creative initiative to address the isolation felt by many carers in South Wales is described. The initiative involved keeping a personal journal of original art work, poetry and thoughts.

The majority of adults with a learning disability live with family carers, many of whom are ageing and have support needs of their own. Planning for the future thus becomes the key to preventing a crisis situation when family care is no longer viable because of death or ill health. Existing knowledge and practice are largely based upon the perspective of professionals and carers. This study explores the views, aspirations and concerns of adults with a learning disability, about living at home and planning for the future.

Psychosocial interventions have been used for many years in caring for people with mental health problems. The few interventions that have a recognised evidence base are cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), family interventions, and education programmes for patients and carers. Describes the process of implementing these interventions in a forensic setting and makes recommendations for future practice. Outlines the training provide to staff and the importance of adequate staffing levels.

The author describes how his Private Member's Bill aims to give the UK's seven million carers the opportunity to learn and to develop a life beyond their caring responsibilities.

In this paper, we examine associations between employment history and marital status and unpaid care provision among those aged 40–59 in England and Wales. We used data from a large nationally representative longitudinal study, the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study. Initially based on a sample drawn from the 1971 Census, in 2001 this study included data on 110 464 people aged 40–59 of whom 5% provided 20 or more hours per week of unpaid care.

In the UK, there are around 1.5 million carers of people with mental health problems providing substantial amounts of free care. Despite having a legal right to a ‘carer's assessment’, only a minority of mental health carers have had such an assessment.

Background: A previous study in Amsterdam showed that combined family support in the Meeting Centres Support Programme, in which dementia patients and their carers are both supported by one professional staff member, is more effective in influencing behaviour problems and mood of dementia patients living in the community than non-integrated support, such as day care only.

Objective: A multi-centre implementation study tests if similar effects are achieved in other regions of The Netherlands.

The model of assertive outreach is one of the most internationally researched areas of community mental healthcare. An assertive outreach team at a mental health trust developed a handbook on the model, involving contributions from service users, carers, local clinicians and the voluntary sector. This article outlines the process of developing the handbook, and summarises its content and user feedback.

Objectives: To identify positive aspects of caregiving and examine how they are associated with caregiver outcomes.