Health professionals

Background: There has been limited research on the role of financial strain on the adjustment of people with multiple sclerosis.

Aims: This study examined the financial costs of MS and the impact of financial strain on the quality of life and adjustment of people with MS and their families.

Methods: Interviews were conducted with 16 health professionals, 26 people with MS and 11 family members of people who have MS.

This paper examines the burdens experienced by caregivers of people with schizophrenia. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 107 caregivers (79 caregivers of clients with a forensic history and 28 caring for non-offenders) and categorised into burden dimensions using content analysis. The severity of the burdens faced was also recorded. The types of burden experienced by the two groups were examined using chi squared and t-tests. Results indicated that the two groups described a similar number of burdens.

A short video aimed at patients and carers which features a number of professionals, patients and carers, who talk about how a more personalised approach to care can improve outcomes.

User or carer involvement is often seen as intrinsically worth while; but if such involvement is a good thing in itself, it would not matter whether changes resulted from it. However, most people argue for user or carer involvement because they think some useful change will follow as a consequence. Being involved can benefit users or carers both personally (for example, by empowering them or increasing their social contacts) and practically (for example, by enabling them to earn money or learn new skills).

Objectives: To explore the perceptions of family carers, older people and health professionals in Australia about what constitutes elder abuse.

Methods: The Caregiving Scenario Questionnaire (CSQ) was disseminated to health professionals from two metropolitan hospitals, older volunteers and carers of older people with dementia recruited for other studies.

Objectives: To review current understanding of the knowledge and information needs of informal caregivers in palliative settings. Data sources: Seven electronic databases were searched for the period January 1994–November 2006: Medline, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Embase, Ovid, Zetoc and Pubmed using a meta-search engine (Metalib®). Key journals and reference lists of selected papers were hand searched. Review methods: Included studies were peer-reviewed journal articles presenting original research.