Social networks

Norwich: a ‘coffee morning’ initiative aimed to give people with dementia and carers the ordinary social opportunities they were missing. It has succeeded and also brought many further benefits, as Judith Farmer explains

Bettina Cass, with Deborah Brennan, Ilan Katz, Catherine Thomson and Deborah Mitchell, and 10 Partner organisations in NSW and South Australia, are undertaking a three-year ARC Linkage Grant project on 'Young Carers: Social Policy impacts of the caring responsibilities of children and young people'.

Informal carers are people who provide care without a specific professional role. They provide diverse caregiving supports including disease-related problems, side effects of treatment and psychosocial impacts. This paper reports on a comprehensive review of caregiving literature, focusing specifically on cancer caregivers. The paper presents five observations drawn from the literature in order to make recommendations about how caregivers of people with advanced cancer can best be supported.

A major issue in research, policy and professional practice is the social exclusion of carers, in particular carers for people with mental health problems. In order to address the issue of social exclusion from the perspectives of professionals, 65 participants were interviewed. The sample included directors, managers and senior staff from the social care, health and voluntary sectors. Respondents were asked to comment at length on the social exclusion of carers.

Hampshire: Alzheimer Cafe UK – a new approach to support for people with dementia and their carers – has been launched in Hampshire. Kandy Redwood explains.

The objective of this pilot Norwegian intervention study was to explore whether use of information and communication technology (ICT) by informal carers of frail elderly people living at home would enable them to gain more knowledge about chronic illness, caring and coping, establish an informal support network and reduce stress and related mental health problems.

This article seeks to examine the factors affecting the caregiver's appraisal of caring for a mentally ill relative. Two hundred and ten caregivers attending to a family member with chronic mental illness in India were interviewed for the study. the results of path analysis indicate burden experienced in the context of caregiving, patient's illness characteristics, and kinship support to be the most significant factors contributing to the caregiver's appraisal of the caregiving experience. The implications of the findings are summarised.

More male caregivers are assuming primary caregiving roles for older adults with chronic health conditions. One of the main sources of support for many caregivers is the assistance that is provided by members of their informal support network. Little is known about the relationship between male caregivers and their informal support networks.

Aims: This study sought to identify, describe and explore the changes in the carers’ experiences of looking after a relative living with dementia, and the effects of caring on the carers’ autonomy and health over time.