carers

Objective To assess whether a manual based coping strategy compared with treatment as usual reduces depression and anxiety symptoms in carers of family members with dementia. Design Randomised, parallel group, superiority trial. Setting Three mental health community services and one neurological outpatient dementia service in London and Essex, UK. Participants 260 carers of family members with dementia.

SPECAL is a person-centred approach to the care of people with dementia which could also have the potential to reduce carer stress and lead to improvements in quality of life for people with dementia and their carers. The approach prioritises meaning over detail. It has 'three golden rules' for the care: do not ask direct questions, learn from the expert by listening and discovering what is important to the person with dementia, and do not contradict. This article describes the origins and rationale of SPECAL.

Val Bunn and Caroline Baker describe a home-based respite service that carers say has made an enormous difference to their lives, and the lives of those they care for.

Background  This study was designed to test the hypothesis that carer attributions for aggressive behaviour vary according to a service user's severity of intellectual disability.

People with learning disabilities have high dependency needs and high prevalence of physical, psychological and social morbidities. Some studies have shown that South Asian and white populations have a similar prevalence of learning disabilities and related psychological morbidity (McGrother et al, 2002), although other studies have shown an increased prevalence of severe levels of learning disabilities in the South Asian population (Emerson et al, 1997).

In every other industry, 'the customer is king' - so why should health care be any different? With reference to the Department of Health's newly published legislation, Real Accountability Guidance on the NHS duty to report on consultation, the author examines the importance of patient and carer input into NHS services. 

Changes in cooking, food preparation and eating habits may give rise to concern among relatives of people with dementia. Jill Manthorpe, Roger Watson and Anne Stimpson report on survey findings on this theme, and draw out messages for services

Findings from a small scale evaluation of one local voluntary sector carers' organisation in the north of England are used to discuss the commissioning of carers support services in rural areas. The issues raised match closely those identified in the new national strategy for carers both in terms of analysis of need and suggested responses. Respite in order to facilitate 'time out' and personalisation of services through a dedicated support officer emerge as the most important elements of service delivery from the carers' perspective.

Objectives: To understand how carers of dementia sufferers gain access to community support and to determine potential barriers for carers.

Design: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews of carers after an Aged Care Assessment Team intervention.

Setting: Australian metropolitan Aged Care Assessment Team.

Subjects: 24 live-in carers of dementia sufferers.