English

I describe the development of a group in North London that aimed to increase the involvement of carers in the development and monitoring of mental health services across the borough. I enabled the carers to evaluate their experiences of the group using a participatory action research model. The evaluation was divided into two phases. Phase 1 focused on how the carers developed effective processes to facilitate the individuals in the group to represent not only their experiences but those of the collective.

This article is focused on children providing and financing long-term care for their elderly parent. The aim of this work is to highlight the interactions that may take place among siblings when deciding whether or not to become a caregiver. We look at families with two children using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe; our sample contains 314 dependent elderly and their 628 adult children. In order to identify the interactions between siblings, we have specified a two-person discrete game model.

Much confusion still surrounds the concept of empowerment and how it is to be translated into practice within the context of community care for service users and carers. A major limitation has been the tendency to treat empowerment as synonymous with participation in decision-making with little attention given to the ‘ecological’ model of empowerment where linkages have been found between community participation and measures of psychological empowerment.

Aims.  This paper reports the findings of a national study of the variations in the provision and correlates of respite breaks to families.

Background.  Internationally, respite breaks are a major support service to family carers, demand for which often exceeds supply for persons with an intellectual disability. Hence, the length of breaks available to families has to be rationed. Nurses are often involved in such decisions.

The role of telecare systems is normally seen as identifying, and drawing attention to, situations of concern in the homes of service users. While this may currently be the primary reason for deploying such systems, the scope of telecare should not be limited to such an alarm generation role. The role of telecare in enhancing community-based care provision may be broadened by using similar, or identical, technology for providing relevant information to the carers of service users.

This paper describes a young refugee's experience of unbearable emotional pain, and its impact on the professionals who work with her. It demonstrates the importance of adequate support for professionals working with refugees; and the difficulties for both individuals and organizations in tolerating the limitations of resources.

Caregivers need certain knowledge and skills both to provide the best possible care and to protect their own well-being.

The future market costs of long-term care for older people will be affected by the extent of informal care. This paper reports on projections of receipt of informal care by disabled older people from their spouses and (adult) children to 2031 in England. The paper shows that, over the next 30 years, care by spouses is likely to increase substantially. However, if current patterns of care remain the same, care by children will also need to increase by nearly 60 per cent by 2031. It is not clear that the supply of care by children will rise to meet this demand.