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Informal caregivers

Muscled by the System: Informal Caregivers' Experiences of Transitioning an Older Adult into Long-term Care

This study explored informal caregivers' experiences of transitioning an older adult into long-term care (LTC). Qualitative description guided our analysis of semi-structured interviews with 13 informal caregivers of older adults from three LTC homes in southern Ontario. Our findings illustrate that caregivers experience chronic worry and burden before deciding on, or requiring to apply for, LTC. A sense of lack of control was a prominent theme, especially when caregivers were applying for LTC beds.

Wed, 05/29/2019 - 13:12

Impact of Penny Brohn UK's Living Well Course on Informal Caregivers of People with Cancer

Objectives: This study evaluated the change in the concerns, wellbeing, and lifestyle behaviors of informal caregivers of people with cancer attending Penny Brohn UK's Living Well Course (LWC), a self-management education intervention. Design: A pre–postcourse design collected self-reported quantitative and qualitative data from informal caregivers attending a LWC. Setting/Location: Penny Brohn UK is a United Kingdom-based charity (not-for-profit) providing specialist integrative, whole person support, free of charge, to people affected by cancer.

Wed, 05/29/2019 - 12:31

Informal caregivers in hospitals: Opportunities and threats

Objective: High hospital costs are a challenge that health system face. Additionally, studies identified manpower deficiency as a problem in health system. Hospital is a place where patients with different physical and mental conditions come to. Their families and friends' companionship can facilitate this situation for them. This study illustrates the roles of informal caregivers in hospital.; Method: This is a phenomenological qualitative study. Data were gathered through semistructured interviews.

Thu, 05/23/2019 - 11:42

A virtual reality intervention to improve the understanding and empathy for people with dementia in informal caregivers: results of a pilot study

Objective: Informal caregivers often experience psychological distress due to the changing functioning of the person with dementia they care for. Improved understanding of the person with dementia reduces psychological distress. To enhance understanding and empathy in caregivers, an innovative technology virtual reality intervention Through the D'mentia Lens (TDL) was developed to experience dementia, consisting of a virtual reality simulation movie and e-course. A pilot study of TDL was conducted. Methods: A pre-test–post-test design was used.

Sun, 05/05/2019 - 19:28

Association of informal caregiver distress with health outcomes of community‐dwelling dementia care recipients: a systematic review

Background: Most dementia care occurs in the community with support from informal caregivers who are often distressed. Dementia caregiver distress is known to be hazardous to the caregiver's health, but the impact on the dementia care recipient is not well known. Methods: the Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases were searched from inception until June 2017 for studies investigating the association of informal caregiver distress with health outcomes of community‐dwelling dementia care recipients.

Sat, 05/04/2019 - 12:24

Investigating burden of informal caregivers in England, Finland and Greece: an analysis with the short form of the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers (BSFC-s)

Objectives: The burden of informal caregivers might show itself in different ways in different cultures. Understanding these differences is important for developing culture-specific measures aimed at alleviating caregiver burden. Hitherto, no findings regarding such cultural differences between different European countries were available. In this paper, differences between English, Finnish and Greek informal caregivers of people with dementia are investigated.

Tue, 04/16/2019 - 11:34

The Impact of Caring for Persons with Stroke on the Leisure Occupations of Female Caregivers

Aim: The purpose of this phenomenological study is to contribute to the literature surrounding caregivers of persons with stroke and to understand the caregivers' perspective on leisure participation and quality of life. Methods: Caregivers (n = 4) of clients with stroke were recruited for the study via convenience sampling. Participants were audio-recorded during a semi-structured interview lasting 60–80 minutes. The interview guide included open-ended questions about the participant's leisure participation and quality of life.

Fri, 04/12/2019 - 15:45

Healthcare and the Co-creation of Value: Qualifying the Service Roles of Informal Caregivers

The study advances the debate on the co-creation of value in healthcare by treating the informal caregivers as a key organizational resource for the providers. Using the Dialogue, Access, Risk, and Transparency (DART) model developed by Prahalad and Ramaswamy as an interpretative key, this qualitative paper frames the role of the informal caregivers within the multiple experiences of value co-creation in which they are engaged. The central argument is that the informal caregiver performs three intersecting key roles: patient's advocate, system navigator and coordinator of care.

Fri, 04/12/2019 - 15:28

Differences in risk factors and chronic conditions between informal (family) carers and non-carers using a population-based cross-sectional survey in South Australia

Background There is growing discussion on the impact of informal caregiving on the health status and morbidity of family carers. Evidence suggests a proportion of carers may be at risk of poor health outcomes. However, there are limited population-based studies that provide representative data on specific risk factors among carers (eg, blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking status, activity and body mass index) and major chronic conditions (eg, asthma, diabetes and arthritis). This study aimed to redress that imbalance.

Fri, 04/05/2019 - 10:40

A cross‐sectional study on experiences of young adult carers compared to young adult noncarers: parentification, coping and resilience

Background Most young carer studies on parentification, resilience and coping concentrated on child carers up to age 18 years, whereas the group of young adult caregivers (18–24 years) has been neglected. In our study, we focused on these young adult caregivers, who are in a life phase in which young people usually are distancing themselves from their families and are striving for autonomy and freedom. Aim To explore young adult carers’ perceptions of parentification, resilience and coping compared to young adult noncarers.

Sun, 03/31/2019 - 16:54