English

Objectives: The aim of the REMiniscence groups for people with dementia and their family CAREgivers (REMCARE) study was to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of joint reminiscence groups for people with dementia and their family caregivers as compared with usual care.

This contribution is devoted to those who take care of others, given here the general name of carer. It is stated that there are an estimated 6.8 million carers in the UK looking after people with a very wide range of health and social needs. Caring for others is an activity that can have both good and adverse effects on the life of a carer. More attention has been focused on the bad effects but some research looks at the positive aspects of caring. The main factors affecting carers' lives are noted.

Caring for a dependent elderly family member and employment are competing demands for men, and especially women, who work in the United States. Women traditionally function in the caregiving role for parents in need. Yet unlike their mothers before them, modern day women caring for elderly parents have more roles, and thus more role demands upon them. Traditional familial roles as wives, homemakers, and mothers are more often coupled with roles as paid workers and as caregiving daughters to dependent parents.

One year after people who lack mental capacity were given the right to use direct payments, Mithran Samuel finds take-up is disappointing. [Introduction]

This paper investigates the prevalence of incapacity in performing daily activities and the associations between household composition and availability of family members and receipt of care among older adults with functioning problems in Spain, England and the United States of America (USA).

We sought to examine the mental and physical health and health-related quality of life of current and past carers compared to non-carers, using two instruments—the Short Form-12 (SF-12) and the EuroQol 5-dimension (EQ-5D). A total of 249 participants (34 current carers, 14 previous carers, 197 non-carers, 4 non-respondents) completed a baseline self-report survey at randomization into the larger study.

The Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995 came into force on 1 April 1996. It entitles carers who are providing substantial amounts of care on a regular basis to an assessment of their needs and ability to care. Local authorities are required to take the results of this assessment into account when making decisions about services. This paper reports the key findings of a two-year study, conducted in Wales, that evaluated the process and outcomes of assessments carried out under the auspices of the Carers Act.

The majority of patients with Alzheimer's disease are cared for by their families at home. Caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease is commonly portrayed in terms of 'problematic' behaviour. This study explored the level of understanding carers have of the illness and the psychosocial impacts carers experience. Qualitative interviews were conducted with eight carers who had been looking after their relatives in community settings. Findings suggest that the carers in this study have a distinct lack of knowledge regarding Alzheimer's disease and its management.

BACKGROUND: Interactive Health Communication Applications (IHCAs) are computer-based, usually web-based, information packages for patients that combine health information with at least one of social support, decision support, or behaviour change support. These are innovations in health care and their effects on health are uncertain.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of IHCAs for people with chronic disease.