families

Social networking technology is making it easier for patients' friends and family to provide support. Tyze a private social platform which has been developed in Canada, is one example. It consists of a shared calender, a messaging system and a 'CareWall' where stories and updates can be posted. Two users of the system are briefly profiled and the benefits they get from the system explained. 

'They look after their own' is a phrase with which we are all familiar but to what extent do ethnic and minority groups care for and support for their family members? Given the current focus on carers, Rosalind Willis in this article presents the findings of a preliminary study into ethnicity and family support, and highlights that what is generally defined as 'support' may perhaps be interpreted differently within and because of different cultures. 

Research on family caregivers usually focuses more on stress and burden, especially in the context of looking after a person with dementia. This leads to fewer considerations of positive aspects of care giving. Thus enhancing these positive aspects represents an innovative approach to caregivers' support. Furthermore, these aspects need more conceptualisation to underpin the development of such an approach. This article proposes a conceptual framework of the positive aspects of care giving based on an integrative literature review.

This paper examines the relationship between care and mobility. It does so within the specific context of intra‐EU migration and the development of European citizenship. Citizenship of the Union bestows valuable social rights on mobile community nationals. Entitlement under the provisions is not, however, universal but conditional and privileges those in paid work.

This ground-breaking report by Government, Employers for Carers and Carers UK, sets out the economic case for supporting the growing number of workers who also care for older or disabled relatives.

During interviews and conversations in health care environments, respondents often convey information in a humorous fashion, self-disclosure something very personal, or  tell detailed stories containing emotional content that is difficult to decipher and interpret. This article offers suggestions for achieving more productive and satisfying interviews with family caregivers who rely on humour to help them tell their stories.

Reminiscence therapy has the potential to improve quality of life for people with dementia. In recent years reminiscence groups have extended to include family members, but carers’ experience of attending joint sessions is undocumented. This qualitative study explored the experience of 18 family carers attending ‘Remembering Yesterday Caring Today’ groups. Semi-structured interviews were transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis.

Purpose: Transitions in caregiving, such as becoming a primary caregiver to grandchildren or having adult children and grandchildren move in or out, may affect the well-being of the grandmother. Design and Methods: This report describes caregiving patterns at 3 time points over 24 months in a sample of 485 Ohio grandmothers and examines the effects of stability and change in grandmother caregiving roles (raising a grandchild, living in a multigenerational home, or not caregiving to grandchildren).

A review of articles published between 2000 and 2013, retrieved from several databases, was conducted to identify research findings regarding nursing interventions intended to meet the needs of the family members of patients in the intensive care unit. The dimensions of need identified were support, comfort, reassurance, information and closeness, with reassurance, information and closeness being the most important. Overall, the needs of patients’ family members were unmet.

As part of an international, multicentered project, the burden of care, health, and subjective well-being experienced by select Australian family carers supporting a relative with disability at home were investigated. Some 448 family carers residing in New South Wales and Tasmania completed a battery of instruments, including a self-report demographic survey, the Family Caregiver Burden Inventory, the General Health Questionnaire, and the Personal Wellbeing Index.