Communication skills

Objectives: The study examined the effects of a telephone-administered psycho-education with behavioral activation intervention (TBA) for family caregivers of person's with Alzheimer's dementia to reduce levels of depressive symptoms and burden and to enhance relationship satisfaction with the care-recipient METHODS: A double-blinded randomized trial compared TBA with telephone-based psycho-education with general monitoring (TGM). Ninety-six dementia caregivers were randomized.

An abstract of a study by Tucker et al defining the barriers and opportunities associated with measuring family and caregiver satisfaction with palliative care services in inpatient and ambulatory settings is presented. Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys which are mandated by CMS and the subsequent Value Based Purchasing payment system has brought increased attention to the potential effects of quality PC services through an emphasis on communication skills, coordination of care, pain management and goals of care discussions.

Objectives

This study evaluates whether a short training workshop in communication techniques is more effective than an information booklet for improving communication skills in informal carers of people suffering from dementia. 30 informal carers were allocated to the workshop sessions and 15 to the booklet. Outcome measures included awareness of communication strategies; perceived frequency of communication breakdown at home, and the associated level of distress; general stress; and consumer satisfaction.

Service users, carers and academics describe participation in the social work degree at Kingston University and St George's University London. It looks at the different ways that users and carers are involved in the course, including teaching, role-playing activities, marking students' work and the selection process for students applying to on the course. It also looks at the importance of the university providing appropriate training and support, the benefits students get from contact with users and carers and what users and carers gain from the experience.

This paper provides an account of one university's experience of involving service users and carers in the delivery of the new undergraduate and postgraduate social work degrees. It poses the question as to whether user and carer involvement in social work education can be viewed as a means of promoting citizen participation or whether it is a case of manipulating relatively powerless groups. In addressing this question, service users and carers and social work tutors describe, from their own distinct perspectives, the processes in which they were both involved.

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.

Service users, carers and academics describe participation in the social work degree at Leeds University. It looks at the different ways that users and carers are involved in the course, including teaching, role-playing activities, marking students' work and the selection process for students applying to on the course. It also looks at the importance of the university providing appropriate training and support, the benefits students get from contact with users and carers and what users and carers gain from the experience.

The Blake Marsh lecture, an annual lecture on learning disability, was endowed in 1963 in memory of Dr Blake Marsh, the former medical superintendent of Bromham House Colony in Bedford.