English

There is a continual need to support and assist carers who play a central role in providing informal care for a relative. This approach to care provision must have a strong foundation based on liaison between the family carers, professional carers and the older or disabled person who is the focus of care. Services that enable effective communication using videoconferencing, interactive communication, tailored Web based programs and other specific resources configured for the needs of the individual can help carers carry out their role effectively.

Family carers are the most important source of dementia care, especially among ethnic minority populations, who are less likely to access health or social services. The evidence base on the carer experience in these communities is profoundly limited.

To explore the caregiving attitudes, experiences and needs of family carers of people with dementia from the three largest ethnic groups in the UK.

Nigeria has an estimated 930 000 AIDS orphans, which has a marked impact on family and community. This study was performed to characterise caregivers’ knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS and their attitude towards HIV/AIDS, orphans in general and AIDS orphans in particular.

There are increasing concerns about the future availability of informal care for older people, particularly care by their children. This article explores past trends in the provision of informal care by children/children-in-law between 1985 and 1995 in Great Britain, using successive General Household Survey data. The article suggests that, during this period, there was a decline in co-resident intergenerational care and that this was associated with a decline in highly intensive intergenerational care.

The aim of this paper is to determine whether the association between the provision of informal care and the health status of caregivers is affected by the country of residence. We focus on two European countries, Belgium and Great Britain, and develop a methodology, which consists of matching a subset of areas from Britain with areas in Belgium that are demographically and socioeconomically similar. These pairs of areas are then used as fixed effects in logistic regressions of poor health.

Care services minister Ivan Lewis has promised a consultation to update the 1999 strategy for carers. Mark Hunter considers the priority areas for action. [Introduction]

Outreach is advocated as a way of improving the uptake of services among underserved populations and of filling the gaps between mainstream services and the populations they are intended to support. Despite the policy emphasis on providing better help for family carers, research consistently shows that many of those providing unpaid care to a family member or friend report difficulties in finding out about the assistance to which they are entitled.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of a voluntary sector based befriending scheme in improving psychological wellbeing and quality of life for family carers of people with dementia. Design Single blind randomised controlled trial. Setting Community settings in East Anglia and London. Participants 236 family carers of people with primary progressive dementia. Intervention Contact with a befriender facilitator and offer of match with a trained lay volunteer befriender compared with no befriender facilita

Family carers of people with a severe mental illness play a vital, yet often unrecognized and undervalued role in Australian society. Respite care services can assist these family carers in their role; however, little is known about their access to these services. The paper addresses this knowledge gap. An exploratory field study was conducted throughout the eastern suburbs of Sydney, Australia, to identify and examine the factors influencing the use and provision of respite services for older carers of people with a mental illness.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the mental health and vitality of people caring for a family member with a disability with those of the general population. Second, to identify factors experienced by carers that put them at risk of poor mental health and vitality.