Depression

Objective: The Aide dans la Maladie d'Alzheimer (AIDMA) study was conducted to determine whether a psycho-educational programme (PEP) for primary caregivers in addition to standard anti-dementia drugs for patients improves caregivers' psychological condition and patients' activities of daily life.

We examined the relation of social problem-solving abilities to distress experienced by family members assuming a caregiving role for a loved one who had recently incurred a severe physical disability. Family members completed measures of problem-solving, depression and health, while their loved one participated in an inpatient rehabilitation programme. Correlational analyses indicated that a negative problem orientation was significantly predictive of caregiver distress, regardless of the degree of physical impairment of the care recipient.

This study examines the relationship between caregiver characteristics and caregiver well-being as comprised of two components, activities of living and basic needs. The role of depression in predicting caregiver well-being is explored using a sample of caregivers of family members with chronic illness. Using a path-analysis model, multivariate findings suggest that depression explains 56% of the variance in activities of living and 64% in basic needs. Path analysis further identifies depression as a mediator between stress and well-being.

It is bad enough that carers witness the decline of the person closest to them, but to have to attend to their every need and be on the receiving end of their anger and frustration is worse. The author explains how one care home has helped her mother cope with her living loss.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a practical, easily implemented, educational intervention in group format for informal carers of persons with dementia. Methods: Multi-centre, randomised, controlled, single-blind trial involving 292 family caregivers of patients with moderate dementia in Alzheimer's disease. Results: Participants valued program components which had a practical impact on their caring role. The intervention achieved minor effects on the participants' psychological quality of life and did not reduce carer depression.

Background: no longitudinal studies have addressed the effect of late life depression on the physical and mental health status of their informal caregivers.

Objective: to examine whether a diagnosis of depression in older medical inpatients is associated with the physical and mental health status of their informal caregivers after 6 months, independent of the physical health of the care recipient.

Design: longitudinal observational study with 6-month follow-up.

The relationship between grief and depression in caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease has not been clearly defined through empirical research. This pilot study examined the relationship between these two variables and determined the strength of their relationship. A racially diverse sample of caregivers was drawn from an urban setting on the east coast of the United States.

As more people are living longer this growing number of older people means an increase in mental health problems. Twenty-five per cent of people over 85 develop dementia and between ten and sixteen per cent of those over 65 develop clinical depression. In addition, people who developed severe and enduring mental health problems such as schizophrenia when young are now growing older (Audit Commission, 2000). Most people with dementia live in the community. About half are cared for at home by a family carer, usually a spouse or adult child (Keady & Nolan, 1995).

Objectives: To test the hypotheses that older people and their informal carers are not disadvantaged by home-based rehabilitation (HBR) relative to day hospital rehabilitation (DHR) and that HBR is less costly.

Design: Two-arm randomised controlled trial.

Setting: Four trusts in England providing both HBR and DHR.

Participants: Clinical staff reviewed consecutive referrals to identify subjects who were potentially suitable for randomisation according to the defined inclusion criteria.

Interventions: Patients were randomised to receive either HBR or DHR.

Study design: Cross sectional survey. Objective: To examine the nature and prevalence of common mental disorders among informal carers of people with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and the association with their leisure satisfaction. Setting: Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamilnadu, India.