Relatives

Reports on a study which aimed to explore the roles and support needs of carers whose relative is placed in long-term care; identify the range and types of services available; and explore was to support carers more effectively. It draws on evidence from a pilot study conducted in 2002/03 in one area of South East England, and a supplemental literature review.

This paper is a report of part of a study to investigate the burden experienced by families giving care to a relative with dementia, the consequences of care for the mental health of the primary caregiver and the strategies families use to cope with the care giving stressors. The cost of caring for people with dementia is enormous, both monetary and psychological. Partners, relatives and friends who take care of patients experience emotional, physical and financial stress, and care giving demands are central to decisions on patient institutionalisation.

Social Role Valorisation theory, advanced to enhance the lives of disadvantaged groups of people, has addressed community care and lay advocacy for patients and users but has ignored the roles of relatives and carers. [In this article, the term ‘patient’ is used to describe a person who is detained under the Mental Health Act, liable to be detained, or in hospital on an informal basis.

PURPOSE: (1) Describe the challenges facing relatives of persons with stroke in accomplishing their daily activities and social roles (participation). (2) Reflect on the role of rehabilitation for relatives and ethical issues that may emerge following the adoption of a family-centred approach.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has long-lasting consequences not only for the individual with the injury but also for family members. The aim of this study is to elucidate the meaning of family members' experiences of living with an individual with moderate or severe TBI. The data have been collected by means of qualitative research interviews with eight family member participants. A phenomenological hermeneutic interpretation (Ricouer, 1976) of the data reveal that family members struggle with their own suffering while showing compassion for the injured person.

Based on Spaniol and Jung's stress and coping framework (1993), this study examined the difficulties and stresses experienced by carers with relatives suffering from schizophrenia in Hong Kong. The impact of these difficulties and stresses and of mastery as a coping resource on carers' mental health was also explored. Results show that carers experience most difficulties and stresses related to the management of negative symptoms such as refusal to perform household duties and neglect of personal hygiene, and less to handling positive symptoms such as bizarre behaviours and thoughts.

Payments for care, by which people in need of long-term care directly employ care workers, have been introduced in many European countries. In The Netherlands, care dependants are allowed to use these payments to hire relatives to perform care tasks. Care-givers who are employed by their relatives are in a hybrid position, because they are contracted as employees in the informal setting of a family home and its affective care relationships. This paper reports a qualitative study of relatives' experiences of payments for care and how these affect their care-giving.

This study aims to measure the causal effect of informal caregiving on the health and health care use of women who are caregivers, using instrumental variables. We use data from South Korea, where daughters and daughters-in-law are the prevalent source of caregivers for frail elderly parents and parents-in-law.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of dementia is increasing among non-western immigrants. It is known that family care is provided relatively often among immigrant groups. Until now, however, relatively little was known about how relatives of people with dementia in the immigrant communities perceive family care. This study therefore focuses on describing the perspectives of female Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese Creole family carers in the Netherlands about providing family care to a close relative with dementia.

Argues why the nearest relative role has important lessons for the roles of the nominated person and carer which will replace it in the next Mental Health Act.