Community nurses

Young carers often provide care because they have always done so for the people they care about, and because they believe that the care recipient could not manage without them. For many young carers, looking after their own health, combining caring with schoolwork, getting access to training or having time off from carer duties can be a major challenge (Department of Health [DH], 2008).

Research undertaken by the author of this article found that there is a lack of education for community nurses on the role of informal carers. She advocates such education is introduced so that health professionals are better able to support informal carers and suggests that the 'Carers Compass' developed by the Carers Impact Project at the King's Fund could serve as a conceptual guide for teaching purposes. 

Objective: caregiver effects of geriatric care models focusing primarily at the patient have not been consistently studied. We studied caregiver effects of a nurse-led comprehensive geriatric evaluation and management (GEM) programme for community-dwelling frail older people that showed—in a randomised comparison with usual care-–health-related quality of life benefits for the care receivers.

Care in the community has been constructed on the basis of professional support for carers who, as a result of community care policy that has released highly dependent people from residential care and long-stay wards, are carrying out a wide range of tasks, including complex health care activities. The present paper examines the health care activities currently undertaken by family carers and the way in which they work with, and are supported by, professional nurses in the home. It compares and contrasts the approaches of both groups to care-giving for this client group.

The present paper reports on a qualitative research project designed to expose the presently unrecognised minutiae of community nurses’ work with cancer patients at home, and to identify the ways in which these, combined to form comprehensive care episodes, contribute to physical and psychosocial well-being. The project was conducted in two locations in New South Wales, Australia, one metropolitan and one rural.

In this video we meet Jim and Janet Swift, both keen travellers until Janet was diagnosed with dementia at the age of 58. Jim's account of their experience illustrates the widespread effect of a very rapid deterioration, and explores the sense of loss and loneliness that can be part of the caring role. His account also highlights the need for skilled, experienced support for carers – in this case provided by an Admiral Nurse - together with access to regular breaks from the caring role.

Community (district) nurses (CNs) are well positioned to provide follow-up home visits to bereaved families and carers of their recently deceased palliative clients. An Australian survey of CN's (n = 58, response rate 29%) described their experiences of bereavement support visits, perceptions of their role in bereavement care and their professional support needs.

In this video we meet Jim and Janet Swift, both keen travellers until Janet was diagnosed with dementia at the age of 58. Jim’s account of their experience illustrates the widespread effect of a very rapid deterioration, and explores the sense of loss and loneliness that can be part of the caring role. His account also highlights the need for skilled, experienced support for carers – in this case provided by an Admiral Nurse – together with access to regular breaks from the caring role.