The role of carer in chronic disease and end of life care

The 24th chapter of 35 in this book on ageing and disability from research and clinical perspectives viewpoints appears in the sixth part (of 12) on loss and end of life issues. It reviews the role of the carer in chronic disease and end of life care, and how positive or otherwise caring, particularly long term, may be. Following an introduction there are five main sections. International emphasis is on care in the community, and the chapter focuses on two studies discussing how family carers describe their role in providing care for relatives with Parkinson's Disease (PD) and end-stage cancer. With early diagnosis and improved treatment programmes both can often be long term commitments, involving considerable stress and loss of social contact for the caregiver. The PD study took place in 2001. Falls were identified by 14 carers participating in semi-structured interviews as particularly important. The average time span for the PD patient's condition was 16.7 years. Six major themes and sub-themes emerged.