Family carers

Objective:This study aimed to review and synthesize findings of the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions aimed at improving outcomes for family carers of people with dementia. Method: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

The number of people living with dementia is rising due to the aging of the population. Nearly two thirds of people with dementia live at home and the majority of the emotional and practical support that they receive is provided by family carers. Psychodynamic perspectives provide a valuable framework of understanding from which to consider the emotional dimensions of caring for a family member who is living with dementia.

Aim: To examine the needs, barriers and challenges experienced by family carers of people with dementia concerning the management of their care recipients' functional disabilities, and their experiences and opinions of using mobile health (mHealth) applications in health information seeking.; Background: Functional disability is a significant problem among people with dementia and management can be challenging for family carers.

Background: Keeping people living with advanced dementia in their usual place of residence is becoming a key governmental goal but to achieve this, family carers and health care professionals must negotiate how to provide optimal care. Previously, we reported a realist analysis of the health care professional perspective. Here, we report on family carer perspectives.

Objectives Few studies have captured the experiences of family carers who manage the nutritional needs of family members living with dementia at home. The identification and management of symptoms that may affect nutritional status is often reliant upon the family carer. This interpretative phenomenological study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of the nutritional care of people living with dementia at home from the perspectives of the family members who support them.

Introduction: E‐PAtS is a co‐produced and co‐facilitated group‐programme to support caregiver wellbeing and positive development for children with intellectual/developmental disabilities. E‐PAtS has previously been evaluated in traditional ways. This study, explored the process and benefits of training three caregivers as co‐researchers in the evaluation of E‐PAtS.  Methods: Three caregivers were invited to serve as co‐researchers and provided with training/supervision.

In Portugal, a mental health reform process is in place aiming to redefine the model of service provision. In 2008, a National Mental Health Plan (NMHP) was approved to provide policy guidance over the transition period. The NMHP intended, among others, to develop community‐based services, with a specific focus on rehabilitation and deinstitutionalization.

Social media has a role in the lives of many family carers. We present a case study of Facebook (FB) use in Care Alliance Ireland, a small Irish not-for-profit carer support organization. In 2012, in its role as coordinator of National Carers Week, Care Alliance Ireland set up a Facebook page to increase reach and awareness of the week amongst family caregivers who used Facebook. Philanthropic donations in the early years of FB use enabled the large-scale and relatively efficient recruitment of followers through targeted social media ads.

Background: People can live for many months without knowing why their body is failing prematurely before being diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND); a terminal neurodegenerative disease which can be experienced as 'devastating' for the person and their family. Aim: This study aimed to explore the meaning of supporting a loved one with MND to die. Methods: This study uses reflection and autobiographical story to connect with broader cultural, political and social meaning and understandings of dying.

Background: Burden and distress among family carers of people living with motor neurone disease (MND) are reported widely. Evidence-based screening tools to help identify these carers' needs and plan appropriate support are urgently needed. Aim: To pilot the Carers' Alert Thermometer (CAT), a triage tool developed to identify carers' needs, with family carers of people living with MND to determine its usefulness in identifying their need for support.