Consumer satisfaction

Aim. This paper is a report of a study conducted to explore the determinants of satisfaction with health and social care services in the last 3 months and 3 days of life as reported by bereaved relatives of those who died from a stroke in an institutional setting.

Background. There is limited research about how best to meet the needs of those who die from stroke. A thorough understanding of the determinants of satisfaction with end of life care is crucial for effective service provision to increase awareness of the needs of dying patients.

This paper considers the significant unmet psychosocial needs of the informal carers of cancer patients, drawing on data generated in a 3-year UK study (1997–2000) on the psychosocial needs of cancer patients and their main carers. While the needs of the carers of cancer patients are increasingly being recognised in healthcare policy documents, there is relatively little published literature on these needs. A ‘significant unmet need’ is defined here as a need deemed important by the carer, but which has not been met.

This paper reports the findings of a literature review conducted to investigate user responses to assisted living technologies (ALTs), principally telehealth and telecare applications. A combination of search terms identified approximately 75 relevant publications, including reports of studies in the US, Australia, Europe and the UK. The documents were analysed to extract data relating to end-user needs, what attracts end users and informal carers to telehealth/telecare services, and what deters them from adopting these technologies.

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. 

Objectives: To explore the experiences of people involved in UK palliative care day services (PCDS) and identify the important outcomes of this service. Methods: Focus groups were carried out separately with patients, informal carers and volunteers from four purposively selected palliative care day units and with day unit managers from 11 units. Results: Patients benefited from both the support of PCDS professionals and social support of fellow PCDS patients, which contributed to a perceived improvement in their quality of life.

A cross-sectional postal survey of bereaved carers was conducted in order to examine levels of satisfaction with services provided for people in their last year of life in the rural county of Powys, Wales, UK. A self-complete questionnaire, using a modified version of the Views of Informal Carers – Evaluation of Services instrument was sent to all bereaved carers of all those people dying of cancer in Powys between 1 April 1999 and 30 June 2001. Eight hundred and five (out of a possible of 815 people) were contacted and 407 agreed to receive the questionnaire.

Aim.  This paper is a report of a study conducted to develop a multimedia computer-assisted instruction for informal carers and test its content validity, user difficulty and user satisfaction.

Background.  Healthy ageing is an increasingly important public health target globally. Changes in technology offer the opportunity for e-health promotion as a means of educating populations and healthcare staff to meet public health targets.

Aim.  This paper reports a study to assess the palliative care needs of the adult population served by a healthcare provider organization in Northern Ireland from the perspectives of patients, informal carers and healthcare providers.

Reports about the impact of caring vary widely, but a consistent finding is that the role is influenced (for better or worse) by how formal services respond to, and work with informal carers and of course the cared for person. We aimed to explore the connection between informal and formal cares and identify how a positive connection or interface might be developed and maintained. We undertook a qualitative descriptive study with focus groups and individual interviews with informal carers, formal care service providers and representatives from carer advocacy groups.

Informal carers provide important emotional support to patients having chemotherapy and assistance in monitoring and managing side-effects. If they are inadequately supported in this, patient and carer morbidity may result. This study explored needs of informal carers supporting patients with cancer having chemotherapy. The study used a mixed methods approach. Carers of colorectal or lymphoma cancer patients at one comprehensive cancer centre participated. Questionnaire data informed semi-structured interviews conducted with a subsample of respondents.