Informal carer

Many older people desire to remain in their homes and be cared for by a family member, but this arrangement requires support from care professionals. The aim was to describe how couples in need of home care services experienced the received support from care professionals. A qualitative design with content analysis was used. Data were collected through diaries and focus groups consisting of eight couples between 65 and 80 years, and two registered nurses.

Objective: The Actifcare (Access to timely formal care) study investigated needs of people with dementia and their families during the phase in which formal care is being considered, and examined whether higher need levels are related to lower quality of life (QOL). Method: From eight European countries 451 people with dementia and their carers participated. Needs were measured with the Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly. QOL was measured with the QOL-AD, and carer quality of life was measured with the CarerQol.