Italy

Expressed Emotion (EE) refers to the emotional behavior and patterns of communication of relatives toward patients, and it is a strong predictor of illness outcome across a variety of psychiatric disorders. The aims of the present study were to provide a contribution for the Italian validation of the Family Questionnaire (FQ), developed by Wiedemann et al. (2002). The FQ is a self-report questionnaire to assess the EE construct.

Objectives: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) significantly impacts health-related quality of life; however, its relational and existential aspects remain unknown in Italian clinical and social debate. The project aimed to investigate the impact of PWS on illness experience through narrative medicine (NM) to understand the daily life, needs and resources of patients with PWS and their caregivers, and to furnish insights for clinical practice.

Background Around 50 million people worldwide are diagnosed with dementia and this number is due to triple by 2050. The majority of persons with dementia receive care and support from their family, friends or neighbours, who are generally known as informal caregivers. These might experience symptoms of depression and anxiety as a consequence of caregiving activities.

Patients who have multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) and their informal caregivers experience poorer health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Perceived social support has been shown to influence HRQOL. This study aimed at identifying the differences between patients' and caregivers' physical and mental HRQOL; and determining the association between their perception of social support from different sources, and their own and their dyad partner's HRQOL. Patients with MCCs and their caregivers (345 dyads) were enrolled in a multicenter cross-sectional study conducted in Italy.

The migrant population in Southern European countries is aging. In the next future, long-term care needs of immigrant individuals will be a major issue in the evolution of social policies in these countries. In this context, it becomes important to examine what are the norms of filial obligations that govern the exchange of social support within migrant families. The study focuses on solidarity norms and support expectations among Mahgrebine immigrants living in Italy. It is shown that: i.

Social innovations in long-term care (LTC) may be useful in more effective responses to the challenges of population aging for Western societies. One of the most investigated aspects in this regard is the role of family/informal care and strategies to improve its integration into the formal care system, yielding a more holistic care approach that may enhance opportunities for aging in place. This article reports the findings of a comparative research focusing on the Italian and Israeli LTC systems as representative of the Mediterranean "family-based" care model.

Background The Family Carer Decision Support (FCDS) intervention has been designed to inform family carers about end of life care options available to a person living with advanced dementia. The FCDS intervention demonstrated a statistically significant impact in reducing family carer decision uncertainty on establishing goals of care at the end of life and, improved family carer satisfaction on quality of care in a study conducted in the United Kingdom.

This paper investigates how the presence of a disabled person in the household affects the employment probabilities of cohabiting women. Using a unique data source and a dynamic probit model accounting for unobserved heterogeneity and endogenous initial conditions, we analyze Italy, France, and the UK, three countries that diverge substantially in terms of welfare system regimes, family and employment policies, and social norms.

Background: The sustainability of long-term care (LTC) is a prominent policy priority in many Western countries. LTC is one of the most pressing fiscal issues for the growing population of elderly people in the European Union (EU) Member States. Country recommendations regarding LTC are prominent under the EU’s European Semester.  Methods: This paper examines challenges related to the financial- and organizational sustainability of LTC systems in the EU.

The international long-term care (LTC) debate has recently been focusing on how to strengthen home care provision. In this regard, a major role has been played by informal care and how to best integrate it in a holistic care approach. Italy and Spain, usually labeled as “familialist” or “family-based” care models, have been promoting national reforms or actions to support the integration of “informal” actors into the overall LTC system.