Independent living

Objective: To describe the living situation of family caregivers of persons with spinal cord injury. Design: Cross-sectional questionnaire. Subjects: Primary family caregivers of persons with chronic spinal cord injury in Switzerland. Methods: Cross-sectional study of family caregivers of persons with spinal cord injury. For comparison, the study population was matched to family care givers of persons dealing with long-term health condi tions in the general population, using a propensity score based algorithm.

This paper presents findings of a constructivist grounded theory study conducted within the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The study explored how family caregivers respond to sexuality issues of their young adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). Indepth interviews and focus group discussions were used as methods of data collection. Twenty-five family caregivers participated in the study. The family caregivers’ perceptions highlight how the lifelong care relationship and the living arrangements attached to it may become a hindrance to people with ID exercising sexual autonomy.

Aims and Objectives: To obtain a deeper understanding of the persistent use of telecare for older adults and their family caregivers.; Background: Telecare is seen as part of the solution in home care services for ageing in place.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to document the impact of major policy changes and reductions in government funding on residential provision for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in Ireland. Design/methodology/approach: Ireland is unique in having a national database of people in receipt of services from specialist ID providers. Information on persons in residential settings from 2005 to 2016 was examined in terms of changes in the types of provision over time and broken down by age groups.

Introduction: Primary healthcare professionals will increasingly be required to manage and optimise their treatment for patients with dementia. With DementiaNet, we aim to reduce the burden of dementia on healthcare services and society through implementation and facilitation of integrated network-based care with increased dementia expertise. DementiaNet is designed as a stepwise approach including clinical leadership, quality improvement cycles and interprofessional training, which are tailor-made to the local context.

Background: Country-specific data on resource use and costs associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) help inform governments about the increasing need for medical and financial support as the disease increases in prevalence.; Methods: GERAS II, a prospective observational study, assessed resource use, costs, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients with AD and their caregivers in Spain.

Aims and objectives: To identify whether benefit finding is a mediator or moderator in the relationship between caregiver burden and psychological well‐being (anxiety and depression) in Chinese family caregivers of community‐dwelling stroke survivors. Background: Family caregivers not only bear a heavy burden, a high level of anxiety and depression, but also experience benefit finding (positive effects result from stressful events).

Background and Objectives: To avoid "chemical restraints," policies and guidelines have been implemented to curb the use of medications for behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). Antipsychotics have been particularly targeted because of their rare severe side effects. Consequently, caregiver directed non-pharmacologic therapies have increased while medication use for BPSD has diminished. Despite such initiatives, however, antipsychotics continue to be prescribed "off-label" for roughly 20% of nursing home patients.

Objective: To assess if expressive and instrumental social support from family and friends moderate the association of care-related work interruptions (e.g. leaving work for the older adult's doctor appointment) with depressive symptoms among working family caregivers of older adults. Methods: Data were from the Singapore Survey on Informal Caregiving (SSIC).

Background: E-health initiatives on the Internet can be used to provide support to people with chronic diseases and to their caregivers. In 2014/2015, we created a free website called jesuisautonome.fr where older people, or their carers on their behalf, can assess their independence in daily living by filling out a simple questionnaire. Objectives: To evaluate the interest of the public in websites of this kind, by analysing home care plans obtained via the self-assessment questionnaire. We also describe patterns of use and visitor behaviour.