English

The changing context of palliative care over the last decade highlights the importance of recent research on home-based family caregiving at the end of life. This article reports on a comprehensive review of quantitative research (1998—2008) in this area, utilizing a systematic approach targeting studies on family caregivers, home settings, and an identified palliative phase of care (n = 129). Methodological challenges were identified, including: small, non-random, convenience samples; reliance on descriptive and bivariate analyses; and a dearth of longitudinal research.

There are 850,000 people living with dementia in the United Kingdom today, and there is currently no diseasemodifying intervention available for any form of the condition. Costs from dementia to the UK economy are currently estimated to be over L24 billion a year and approximately 700,000 people are informal carers for people who have dementia. While age is the biggest risk factor for developing dementia, the condition is not an inevitable part of ageing. Other factors such as medical history, lifestyle and genetics may also contribute to the risk of developing dementia.

Although heralded as a major breakthrough in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease the experience and impact of using cholinesterase inhibitors (CHEIs) from the perspective of people with Alzheimer’s disease has not been widely reported. This qualitative study reports the lived experience of CHEI users and the perceived impact of the treatment. The views and experiences of 12 older people referred for memory problems or receiving treatment and 11 associated family carers were obtained using a combination of semi-structured interviews and focus groups.

The life of close relatives of persons with bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with emotional distress, depression, and a high level of use of mental health care. Illness-related changes of their life situation endanger relationships, social life, finances, and occupational functioning. Understanding of facilitating conditions for close relatives is still a neglected research area. The aim of the present study thus was to explore what makes the life of close relatives of persons with BD more liveable. A lifeworld phenomenological approach was used.

The ageing of the population will increasingly result in reliance on the family for care in the community. Existing reviews have provided insights into the needs and health outcomes of family caregivers, but are disproportionately skewed towards spousal caregivers. Presently, a large majority of family caregivers are adult children. Adult children are distinct from spousal caregivers in terms of the combination of roles they occupy and the relationship they have with the care recipient. These unique considerations can have important implications for their well-being.

Inequality and exclusion are characteristic of the experience of UK South Asian communities. In health care, community needs are often not addressed by health and social welfare services. An increase in cultural competency is now part of identified policy. The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which there is evidence of cultural competency amongst professionals concerning South Asian parents caring for a person with cerebral palsy. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with respondents from 19 service organisations.

Purpose of the study: Caregiver burden is a multidimensional construct, addressing tension and anxiety (stress burden), changes in dyadic relationships (relationship burden), and time infringements (objective burden) resulting from caregiving.