Needs

Background: This study explored the personal experiences of family carers and residential care staff in supporting adults with intellectual disabilities through the process of bereavement.

Method: A semi-structured interview was used to interview 11 carers on their experience of supporting adults with intellectual disabilities through the process of bereavement. The transcripts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).

Purpose. To expand understanding of informal stroke care-giving, validated tools previously used in Hong Kong and in the UK were used with Australian stroke carers to assess their stroke-related knowledge, perceived needs, satisfaction with services received and sense of burden after stroke patients' discharge home from acute hospital care.

Methods. Record audit and telephone interviews with two cohorts of 32 carers recruited in Sydney and Brisbane 1 and 3 months post-hospital discharge, using validated scales and open questions in May–July 2006.

The literature on carer burden, needs and interventions developed to address care needs of those caring for people with psychosis are reviewed. The findings of a study which explored the views and experiences of carers, service users and professionals with regard to what carers of people with psychosis need from mental health services are then reported.

This study investigated, by way of interview (n=45), the needs of those caring for a person with dementia and their satisfaction with current services in the Caerphilly County Borough of South Wales. Carers reported having the most difficulty coping with the demands on their time and the emotional strain associated with caring. Carers requested more information regarding available services, the diagnosis of dementia and the legal and financial aspects of caring.

This qualitative study was informed by grounded theory and data were gathered primarily through semi-structured in-depth interviews with thirty-seven theoretically sampled former carers. They were all white British, lived in the East Midlands and were predominately over sixty (68 per cent) and female (70 per cent). With the exception of one, all had cared for a close relative, 65 per cent having cared for a partner/spouse. Most of their dependants were older adults and each case the cessation of caring had coincided with the death of the dependant.

This paper seeks to highlight the impact of the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act of 1995 on carers of people with learning disabilities. It draws on research conducted in the south west between 1997 and 1999, which examined the views and experiences of carers who had an assessment of their needs, together with those of the person they care for and the professional conducting the assessment. It concludes that the Carers Act is not widely used, or understood, by this group of carers.

The Law Commissioner has recommended changes to carers rights in its proposals to overhaul adult care law. The changes could help social workers to highlight the needs of hidden carers.

A national study of patients with motor neurone disease (MND) and their carers was conducted in Scotland in late 1996. A questionnaire covering areas such as: use of medical, social and voluntary services; use of or waiting for specialised equipment; satisfaction with provided services; and standard demographic data was used in face-to-face interviews conducted by the four Scottish Motor Neurone Disease Association care advisers. The care advisers also assessed the respondent’s level of impairment, using a standard instrument: the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Severity Scale (ALSSS).