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Long term care

The effects of nursing home placement on the perceived levels of caregiver burden

Providing care for an ageing parent can be one of the most fulfilling life experiences for an adult child. It can also be one of the most exhausting physically, emotionally and financially. A carer experiences psychological and emotional changes when their dependent parent or spouse is placed into formal care. This research project uses the Montgomery Borgatta Caregiver Burden Scale, amended with a questionnaire, in a self-administered, anonymous survey to explore perceptions of caregiving burden before and after the nursing home placement periods.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:16

The intersection of employment and care: evidence from a UK case study

Working carers are a key focus of UK policies on health and social care and employment. Complementing national and European evidence, this paper presents a local case study of working carers. It draws on data from a county-wide survey containing a module on caring. Data were primarily categorical and were analysed using SPSS. Three quarters of all carers who responded to the survey were of working age: two thirds were employed and one third had been employed previously. The majority of working carers were mid-life extra-resident women.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:16

Sustained informal care: the feasibility, construct validity and test–retest reliability of the CarerQol-instrument to measure the impact of informal care in long-term care

This study investigated the feasibility, validity and reliability of the Carer Quality of Life (CarerQol) instrument among informal carers of long-term care users. CarerQol-VAS measured the impact of informal care by assessing happiness, and CarerQol-7D described burden dimensions. Participants included 100 informal carers of patients obtaining day care or living in a long-term care facility in the Netherlands. Construct validity assessed the extent to which differences in background characteristics were reflected in happiness scores with univariate and multivariate statistics.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:16

Consumer direction and choice in long-term care for older persons, including payments for informal care: how can it help improve care outcomes, employment and fiscal sustainability?

As the number of older persons in need of long-term care increases, efforts to support older persons remaining in their home are intensified in most OECD countries. In this context of ageing in place, there is a movement towards allowing more individual choice for older persons receiving publicly funded long-term care at home. Having more flexibility in terms of how to receive care can increase the older person’s self-determination and that of his/her informal care givers.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:16

A qualitative study of the experiences of long-term care for residents with dementia, their relatives and staff

Most older people living in 24-hour care settings have dementia. We employed qualitative interviews to explore positive and negative aspects of the experience of family carers, staff and people with dementia living in 10 homes in London and West Essex, selected to cover the full range of 24-hour long-term care settings. The interview used open semi-structured questions.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:16

Understanding the caring capacity of informal networks of frail seniors: a case for care networks

Population ageing and constraints on public sector spending for older people with long-term health problems have led policy makers to turn to the social networks of older people, or the ‘informal sector’, as a source of long-term care. An important question arising from this policy shift is whether these social networks have the resources to sustain the high levels of care that can be required by older people with chronic health problems.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:15

Determinants of the probability of obtaining formal and informal long-term care in European countries

The aim of this report is to identify patterns in the utilisation of formal and informal long-term care (LTC) across European countries and discuss possible determinants of demand for different types of care. It addresses specific research questions on the volume of different types of care and the conditions under which care is provided. The latter include demographic factors, especially population ageing, health status and the limitations caused by poor health, family settings and social networking.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:15

Family caregivers' compassion fatigue in long-term facilities

A Canadian study offers staff in the UK insight into the feelings of hopelessness and sadness that can engulf relatives assisting with care, say Beth Perry and colleagues

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the presence of compassion fatigue in family carers who assist staff with care of older relatives in long-term settings.

Method: arrative data were collected through observation and conversations with five purposively selected family carers.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:15

Using strengths-based practice to support culture change: an Australian experience

Workplaces across the globe have experienced an unprecedented pace of change. The effects of a problem focus, de-personalisation and over regulation in long-term care settings are experienced similarly by carers, residents, their families and nursing homes as a whole. A pathology focus is no longer appropriate, inviting a paradigm shift to explore how accessing the unique strengths and resources of all parties becomes an imperative role in changing organizational culture. This paper draws comparisons between the experiences and tasks of all those involved in care settings.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:15

Managing the body work of home care

Body work is a key element of home healthcare. Recent restructuring of health and social care services means the home is increasingly a key site of long-term care. While there is a growing literature on the social dynamics between care recipients and their family caregivers, less is known about the formal work dynamic between paid care workers and care recipients and family caregivers.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:15