English

 An economic analysis was conducted as an integral part of a comparison of the effectiveness and suitability of Hospital at Home (HaH) and in-patient interventions. The sample comprised of 109 adult primary total joint replacement patients and 21 of their coresident informal carers.

• The paper is presented in two parts. Part 1 includes the background and rationale for the study and the findings from the comparison of the effectiveness of the two interventions using multiple data collection sources.

The number of carers in the community is rising, and the importance of general practice in providing supportfor them has been highlighted. Caring for a disabled friend or relative has been shown to be harmful to the health of the caregiver and changes in social and family structure have led carers to become isolated and more reliant on the formal support services. However, many carersfeel that GPs do not understand their needs, and in turn many GPs and nursesfeel that they lack the relevant resources and training to take a more proactive role.

Much of the 150million earmarked by the government to help carers never reached them. Where PCTs did pass on funds it has made a crucial difference. The author reports. [Journal abstract]

Community Care's exclusive survey of young carers shows that half will spend more than five hours caring for another member of the family this Christmas. The authors talks to one young carer about her plans for the Christmas holidays. 

This report describes research that set out to measure, monitor and evaluate health inequalities associated with the provision of unpaid care. It outlines the scope and design of the project and presents the key findings. The adverse health effects of caring are primarily psychological and often manifest themselves as symptoms of anxiety, depression and social dysfunction. Caringrelated inequalities in psychological well-being are quantifiable and significant; they are most pronounced at key turning points in the caring trajectory and in the more demanding care situations.

Caregiving for family members with cognitive impairment is stressful and time consuming. Because of the attention needed to manage the memory and behavior problems of the care receiver, family caregivers have little time to attend to their own health needs. Most research related to the health of family caregivers has been conducted within a stress-illness framework. Fewer researchers have studied caregiver health from a health-promotion paradigm.

The passing of the Carers (Recognition and Services Act) 1995 was a step forward in trying to ensure that people who provide informal care to disabled, sick or elderly relatives or friends are properly recognised and properly supported. The Carers Act gave informal carers the right to an assessment of their own needs, and this article is based on a study into the impact of the legislation in four local authority social services departments. It is argued that the vision of supporters of the Carers Act, namely to achieve real benefits for many carers, has yet to be realised.

The Carers Week partnership wanted to find out from the UK’s carers how prepared as a society we are and what could make a difference to carers’ lives and the people they care for. Prepared to Care? explored the impact that caring has on people’s lives. In particular it focused on carers’ relationships, career, finances and health and well-being. The following are the findings of the survey of over 2,100 carers and their experiences. It concludes with recommendations from carers. 

Marie Curie campaigns to ensure that more people are able to be cared for and die at home. Previous research has shown that 63% of people would choose to die at home if they were terminally ill, however the reality in the UK is that just 21% of people die at home, while the majority (53%) die in hospital. This report describes the direct experiences of carers looking after someone at the end of life. It is based on interviews with 40 carers who were currently caring for a sick friend or relative or had been bereaved.