Perception

Immigrant older adults are increasingly moving into long term residential care (LTRC) homes; however, most were designed and continue to be run in accordance with Anglocentric norms and values. Participation and interest in Family Councils—through which they might collectively voice concerns—was low within our purposive sample of nine Chinese-origin residents living in LTRC homes and 11 family carers.

Family and informal caregivers provide a substantial amount of care and support to people who experience mental health problems. The aim of this study was to explore mental health nurses', students' and service users' perceptions of the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are required by mental health nurses to work with families and carers using a qualitative methodology. Three themes emerged from the data: Knowledge of the family and how mental distress affects the family; working with the family – support and education; and valuing the role of the family.

Background: Despite evidence for early integration of palliative care for people with advanced cancer and their families, patterns of late engagement continue. Prior research has focused on health professionals’ attitudes to palliative care with few studies exploring the views of patients and their carers. Aim: To explore initial perceptions of palliative care when this is first raised with patients with advanced cancer and their families in Australian settings.

Background A diagnosis of serious mental illness can impact on the whole family. Families informally provide significant amounts of care but are disproportionately at risk of carer burden when compared to those supporting people with other long-term conditions. Shared decision making (SDM) is an ethical model of health communication associated with positive health outcomes; however, there has been little research to evaluate how routinely family is invited to participate in SDM, or what this looks like in practice.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore carers' perceptions of their ability to access a range of health and social care services, including information about the services. Method: A total of 151 participants, who were all members of a charity set up and run by informal carers of people with learning disabilities, were given semi-structured questionnaires, which yielded qualitative and quantitative data. Further data came from two focus groups.

Those working with patients with diabetic foot wounds are well aware that individuals who take a considerable time to heal pose ongoing challenges for health care professionals and informal carers; cycles of breakdown, recurrent infections, pain management, and adherence to treatment all require regular reassessment, renegotiation of care goals, and review of care plans. Those patients with ulcers for many years are clearly hard-to-heal and often reach a state where the wound is 'static'-not always with any apparent reason.