carers

Objectives: The aim of this review is to discuss how existing models of information behaviour may help to improve provision of information to carers of people with dementia. The article analyses existing models of information behaviour derived from information science, describes studies that have examined these models in relation to health and discusses ways in which they help to understand the information behaviours of carers of people with dementia.

Objectives: The topic of how primary informal caregivers cope with their caregiving demands has generated significant research. However, little is known about secondary informal caregivers, who often share caregiving responsibilities. This cross-sectional study aims to analyse and compare the use and effectiveness of coping strategies of primary and secondary informal caregivers of dependent elderly people, living at home.

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 introduced significant amendments to the NHS Act 2006. This guidance supports two legal duties, requiring clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and commissioners in NHS England to enable patients and carers to participate in planning, managing and making decisions about their care and treatment through the services they commission; and to enable effective public participation in the commissioning process, so that services provided reflect the needs of local people.

Informal care of older people, including a summary of research on the attitudes towards willingness to care for an elderly person among members of the general public aged 20-39 years and 40-59 years. Nurses' attitudes towards elderly care nursing are also discussed. It is suggested that nurses can influence attitudes to the elderly and engage with informal carers. [(BNI unique abstract)] 11 references

Objectives: Identify factors of informal caregivers, caregiving, and people with multiple sclerosis (MS) receiving assistance that are associated with perceptions of caregiver accomplishment. Methods: National data were collected in a telephone interview survey of 530 informal caregivers and analyzed using an ordered logistic regression model to identify factors associated with perceptions of caregiver accomplishment among 442 of these informal caregivers (caregivers providing all data in their survey responses needed for the regression model). Results: We found t

Aim.  To throw light on the lived experiences of female partners of patients with Parkinson disease living at home.

Background.  It is known that daily life with a partner with Parkinson’s disease entails radical upheaval in the family, in particular for the female partner.

Methodology.  A phenomenological hermeneutic approach was used. Interviews with female partners (N = 10) of patients with Parkinson disease who were living at home were conducted in Denmark in 2008. The French philosopher Ricoeur’s theory of interpretation guided the data analysis.

Long-term care in the UK relies heavily on informal and unpaid carers. Statistical data regarding the number of carers in the 2001 Census compared with the 2011 Census identify an increase of around 600 000 carers. It is also significant that many of these carers are themselves in their late middle age. The reasons for taking on the caring role are varied, but there are significant potential physical, mental and financial issues associated with taking on the caring role. Positive benefits in terms of support provision for the carer do exist, but support services across the UK are variable.

This article summarises PhD research undertaken by the author and provides readers with the carer assessment tools validated in the study. [Journal abstract]

Results of the UK’s largest ever survey of people with Parkinson’s and carers

Increasingly there is greater emphasis on user/carer involvement in the delivery of mental health care. There are five levels of participation from none at all to partnership and optimal involvement. A two-year pilot steering group was established by a health authority in December 2000 and criteria for independent evaluation agreed. These included the context, data collection, analysis and report, and recommendations based on the findings to increase user/carer involvement in all aspects of mental health service delivery.