Personal care

Methods: Using semi-structured interviews, this descriptive qualitative research study examined informal caregivers' perspectives of participating in the personal care of a person living with a life-limiting illness within one hospice inpatient setting. Some 10 principal, informal caregivers of hospice inpatients were recruited by means of purposive sampling, using posters displayed in the hospice inpatient unit. Thus, participation was entirely 'opt-in'. A flash card was displayed at the beginning of each interview to determine a definition of personal care.

Drawing on carer narratives from research undertaken in New Zealand, this paper considers the interrelationship between place and the care-giving experience. In doing so, it considers: first, how informal carers of older people experience the transition in the place of care from the home to care homes; second, how they negotiate new identities for themselves as carers in these new care settings; and third, carers' views on how we might develop more inclusive models of care in care home settings.

This paper examines care management, or ‘managerial care’, a type of informal care for older adults that has been relatively neglected by researchers. While previous research has acknowledged that care-giving may involve tasks other than direct ‘hands-on’ care, the conceptualisation of managerial care has often been vague and inconsistent. This study is the first explicitly to investigate managerial care amongst a large sample of carers.

Population forecasters have predicted that the proportion of people in the UK aged 65 years and older will rise significantly in coming decades. This shift in demographics will put increasing pressure on the National Health Service and providers of social care. However, older people do not rely only on care provided by the state; informal care of the elderly is often supplied by family and friends. Therefore, the relationship between formal and informal care and the reaction of informal carers to institutional changes is an important policy issue.

The author highlights the plight of young carers whose support needs are often overlooked and whose hard work is seldom recognised. Cites four references.

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.