Comparative studies

Traditionally, day care for elderly persons has been provided by health or social services; however, recently facilities have been developed by voluntary organizations. This study was conducted to examine the characteristics of elderly clients with mental health problems attending these various settings, and to identify any areas of unmet need.

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).

Aim.  This paper is a report of a study of the perceptions of family caregivers regarding the availability and adequacy of health and social care services for their family member with Huntington disease, and to compare findings from these reports in United Kingdom and United States of America samples.

Background.  Huntington disease is an inherited neurodegenerative condition. Family members often take responsibility for care of relatives with long-term conditions. Studies have demonstrated there are both positive and negative outcomes for carers.

This study examined support, stress, and well-being between adults who provide care for an aging and disabled parent and those who care for an aging and disabled parent-in-law. The study utilized a sample of individuals caring for a parent (n = 77), individuals caring for an in-law (n = 26) and a comparison group of noncaregivers (n = 1,939) from the Midlife Development in the United States study. In-law caregivers provided more financial assistance but adult child caregivers provided more emotional support and unpaid work.

Informal carers of an adult with mental illness have asked that respite care be an integral component of mental health service provision. The present study involved a pilot investigation of the effectiveness of accessing respite care for carers of individuals with a mental illness. It was hypothesised that compared to carers who have not accessed respite care, carers who access respite care would report lower burden and distress, higher life satisfaction and better health after their use of respite care.

When caring for an older relative with dementia, family members experience considerable distress and burden. Literature reviews show that supportive group interventions for these caregivers have significant positive effects on improving their distress and quality of life, but not consistent and conclusive. Limited research is found in Asian populations. This study tested the effectiveness of a 12-session bi-weekly mutual support group program for Chinese family caregivers of a relative with dementia in Hong Kong, when compared with standard family support service.

The discourse surrounding community care characterises informal support being superior to and preferred over formal sources of support, with this distinction buttressed by policy changes. There is a lack of understanding of the interdependence of both spheres of support. This article argues that an individual's experience and expectation of one type of support is often made in relation to his or her understanding, expectation and experience of other sources of support.

Informal carers represent a substantial proportion of the population in many countries and health is an important factor in their capacity to continue care-giving. This study investigated the impact of care-giving on the mental and physical health of informal carers, taking account of contextual factors, including family and work. We examined health changes from before care-giving commenced to 2 and 4 years after, using longitudinal data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. The sample comprised 424 carers and 424 propensity score-matched non-carers.

Governments of advanced European welfare states with ageing populations are struggling to reconcile what seem to be conflicting policies. On the one hand, they are trying to increase the labour market participation of women and older workers. On the other hand, they are making more demands on people to care for disabled, chronically ill and frail older relatives and friends. Those caregivers are more likely to be women and older people.

Feminism rather than gerontology characterises this book but the substantive issues lie within the field of gerontology and the shift in the boundaries of paid and unpaid work at the end of the twentieth and in the early twenty-first centuries. Cash payments for care are a possible method of ensuring care and citizenship. The chapters raise issues of long-term care funding, the positions of users, caregivers and care workers in the care relationship, how care work could be professionalised and support for informal carers.