Scotland

The aim of the present paper was to examine some views and experiences of dementia among older South Asian people, as well as their families and carers, and to explore central issues of service support. Data were collected in Scotland through interviews with 11 professionals working with South Asian people with dementia, and four case studies of South Asian people with a diagnosis of dementia, as well as their families and carers.

BACKGROUND: Stroke is the third most common cause of death in industrialized countries and a major cause of adult disability. However, the burden of caring for stroke survivors usually rests with family members who have neither chosen nor volunteered for the role of 'carer'.

AIMS: This paper reports on a study which aimed to describe the experience of caring for a stroke survivor at one year after stroke in Scotland.

There are many different organisations working with and supporting carers. This guide can be used by a wide range of professionals in different ways. Whilst the case studies provide examples of the partnership work promoted by Carers Centres, the methodologies given can be used in other partnership work across carers’ services, as well as within health and social work services.

The increasing focus on the involvement of people who use health and social care services and their carers in developing services and in social work education has the potential to bring significant change. This book examines the challenges in enabling people who are `experts by experience' to participate in an agenda which is largely dominated by 'top-down' managerial practices. Several themes run through the book.

Background. In most economically developed countries, patients, their informal and professional carers and policy makers are calling for more care in the community.

Objectives. To involve patients with cancer, and their carers, in designing a framework for providing effective cancer care in primary care.

Methods. Two discussion groups comprising 18 people with current cancer and carers met monthly over a year in the south of Scotland.

In this chapter the author recounts her personal experiences of being a carer for her son and her interaction with social services in Scotland. The author's son is now over 30 years old and is on the autistic spectrum, has obsessive compulsive disorder and a learning disability. She recounts the early difficulties she had in dealing with health and educational professionals as she tried to achieve the best possible care for her son. Many of the professionals she encountered were unable to appreciate the importance of integrating her son into as many normal daily activities as possible.

Informal carers provide the majority of care for older people living in the community. The provision of care can be very stressful and is said to have an adverse effect on caregivers health. policy has recognised the need to support carers and a key objective has been to improve service provision for them. research has shown that service intervention can prevent the breakdown of care and admission to long term care. However, relatively few carers and older people use formal services. While the low uptake of services is documented it is not fully understood.

Introduction: In Spain and the United Kingdom, more than 80% of people with schizophrenia are cared for by informal carers who are at risk of experiencing chronic stress. If this stress is not dealt with in time, a more serious disorder could develop. The present article aims to explore the role of nursing in this group of carers and attempts to answer the question: to what extent do nurses' views of their role affect their practice with carers?

Background: For those of working age, results are inconclusive when exploring the health impact of providing care. Moreover, population data is lacking and the impact of welfare policies on the caregivers’ health has not been yet analysed.