English

Background: Patients with severe and enduring mental health problems are increasingly being cared for in the community. Whilst community services continue to develop it is recognized that family members and friends play an important role in the care process.

Aims: (i) to assess the level of service use and associated costs of carers, (ii) to compare service use to that pertaining in the general population, and (iii) to identify carer characteristics that are predictive of cost variations.

Objectives: To determine whether a social support intervention (access to an employed befriending facilitator in addition to usual care) is effective compared with usual care alone. Also to document direct and indirect costs, and establish incremental cost-effectiveness.

Design: The Befriending and Costs of Caring (BECCA) trial was a cost-effectiveness randomised controlled trial. Data on well-being and resource use were collected through interviews with participants at baseline and at 6, 15 and 24 months.

While the regulations allowing staff parental leave are quite specific, those governing other caring responsibilities are less clear. [Introduction]

This paper explores the care-giving experiences of informal carers in cancer contexts, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data generated in a 3 year study in the UK on the psychosocial needs of cancer patients and their main carers. The study adopted a sociological approach to psychosocial needs, in contrast to dominant psychological and psychiatric perspectives on such needs in psycho-oncology.

This paper reports an analysis of the relative influence of work-related, care-related and personal factors on carer outcomes among 204 working female carers. To examine the importance of personal factors, the ‘Motivations in Elder Care Scale’ (MECS) and the ‘Relationships in Elder Care Scale’ (RECS) were developed. In a qualitative pilot study, interviews with working-age carers were drawn on to form the items for inclusion.

There are six million unpaid carers in the UK who look after relatives, friends, children or older people who are sick or disabled. The number of carers is growing and the Department for Work and Pensions (the Department) estimates that the number of carers it supports will increase by about a quarter by 2014-15. The nature of care obligations varies. Care may be provided throughout life, during a chronic condition, over distinct periods, or towards the end of a person’s life. Appendix One provides examples of caring responsibilities from our survey of carers.

NHS teams should also make carers aware of statutory right to social services assessment and explain process. [Journal abstract]

The Irish community is the oldest minority ethnic community in Britain. Despite an older age profile than general or minority ethnic populations, as well as excesses of mental and physical ill-health and socio-economic disadvantage, the age, poor health and social profile of the community is largely ignored by policy makers and providers. Several of these factors predispose the Irish community in England to a higher incidence of dementia. Unlike other minority ethnic groups with growing numbers of people with dementia, the incidence of dementia is already high.

Aim.  The aim of this was to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions provided by a Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) in reducing stress in carers of individuals with dementia.

Six million informal carers provide support for aged and disabled people in the United Kingdom. Government policies suggest that primary care teams are the main support for carers. This postal survey of 300 general practitioners (GPs) and 272 district nurses (DNs) aimed to determine current practice and views on their role in supporting informal carers. In practice, GPs and DNs lack time, resources, and training to provide support, and see themselves in a reactive role only.