Stress

A carer is in danger of collapsing under the weight of responsibility. This article looks at how social workers were able to provide her with the support to help her carry on.

Background: Several studies have investigated abusive behaviour by carers towards people with dementia, most using unvalidated scales; only two reported correlates of abuse after controlling for mediators and confounders, and these controlled for different factors.

Objective: To investigate the acceptability and validity of the Modified Conflict Tactics Scale (MCTS) and abuse correlates.

Objective: In this follow-up study, the long-term influence of group living homes (GLHs) on informal caregiver distress was compared with modern yet regular nursing homes (NHs).

Method: Informal caregivers of GLH (N = 37) and NH residents (N = 49) were studied at the time of admission, 6 months thereafter, and approximately 24 months after admission. Repeated measures of ANOVA were performed to study group-by-time effects on psychopathology, role overload, and feelings of competence.

Osteoarthritis in the hip joint is a chronic degenerative condition, causing pain and disability. As the disease progresses, the individual's health deteriorates. This often results in one of the family members having to assume a carer role to assist the care receiver in personal and domestic activities of daily living. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether carers experienced stress from looking after individuals with osteoarthritis who were waiting for a total hip replacement.

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.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine whether a brief structured multicomponent group programme for carers of people with acquired brain injury (ABI) was effective in reducing carer distress, strain, and critical comments between carer and person with an ABI compared to a waiting list control condition. DESIGN: Waiting list controlled study. Pre- and post-test design with outcomes measured at induction, at the end of the intervention, and at the 3-month follow-up.

Providing care for an ageing parent can be one of the most fulfilling life experiences for an adult child. It can also be one of the most exhausting physically, emotionally and financially. A carer experiences psychological and emotional changes when their dependent parent or spouse is placed into formal care. This research project uses the Montgomery Borgatta Caregiver Burden Scale, amended with a questionnaire, in a self-administered, anonymous survey to explore perceptions of caregiving burden before and after the nursing home placement periods.

Unlike professional caregivers such as physicians and nurses, informal caregivers, typically family members or friends, provide care to individuals with a variety of conditions including advanced age, dementia, and cancer. This experience is commonly perceived as a chronic stressor, and caregivers often experience negative psychological, behavioural, and physiological effects on their daily lives and health.

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.