carers

The authors draw on their experience as a counsellor and counselling service manager working for the Dementia Care Trust, an organisation that specialises in providing counselling for carers in their home space. They look at the perceived strengths and weaknesses of counselling in the home, including client commitment, client and counsellor safety and boundaries. They also highlight the benefits of working within the clients context and environment.

The population of adult carers in Great Britain declined during the 1990s while the proportion of those heavily involved in providing informal care increased. The intensification of care-giving was associated with an increasing number of caring relationships that typically make heavy demands on the carer: spouse care and caring for a child or parent. The provision of informal care by friends and neighbours diminished resulting in an overall decline in care-giving between households. However, parents were increasingly looked after in their own homes by non-resident daughters.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine relatives’ perception of an assistive technology intervention aimed at persons with dementia (PwDs) and their relatives, and to examine whether, and how, experiences of the intervention process differed between relatives valuing the intervention to be of high, and relatives perceiving it to be of low significance. Method: A total of 47 relatives of PwDs within the Swedish Technology and Dementia project were interviewed telephonically using a modified version of the Patient perspective on Care and Rehabilitation process instrum

Objectives: This review aims to explore the role of self-efficacy (SE) in the health-related quality of life (QoL) of family carers of people with dementia.

Methods: A systematic review of literature identified a range of qualitative and quantitative studies. Search terms related to caring, SE, and dementia. Narrative synthesis was adopted to synthesise the findings.

The collection of 1300 picture symbols in ISPEEK at Home provides an easy-to-use and enjoyable tool for overcoming communication difficulties in children with autistic spectrum disorders. The CD-ROM contains symbols for a wide range of situations typically encountered in the home and beyond, from feelings and facial expressions - common problem areas for people with autism - to health and hygiene and holidays.

Negative social attitudes, discrimination, and homophobia affect gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) individuals during their lifetimes. These experiences can affect how these individuals access health services and interact with health professionals, resulting in adverse outcomes compared with their heterosexual counterparts. End-of-life experiences can also be shaped by these factors.

Family care-givers play a vital role in the support of people with dementia. In addition to opportunity costs, care-giving has been linked to a wide range of negative outcomes, including psychological disturbance, physical health problems, relationship changes and social activity restrictions (Donaldson et al, 1997). Carers identify access to information and training as an essential requirement in their struggle to continue in the care-giving role (Blackwell et al, 1992). To what extent are these training needs currently met?

Lighting Up is a project in which artists work with people who have dementia and their carers. It has been running for over two years, and is now based in three venues in Bristol and South Gloucestershire. This article describes what Lighting Up has done and learnt over that time. Lighting Up aims to ensure that sessions encourage continuity and development from one session to the next, rather than simply being one-off enjoyable events. The focus is on the quality of participants’ lives rather than the outcomes of any specific activity.