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The paper reports on the development and piloting of the Social Inclusion Interview Schedule (SIIS). This uses pictures to explore social networks and feelings of social inclusion. The background, conceptual framework and development of the interview schedule are discussed and interim findings are highlighted. The challenge of not just identifying the constituents of a social network but also attributing some measure of intensity to the relationships and activities identified will be considered.

This study aimed to compare care recipient and caregiver perceptions of quality of life in patients (QoL-p) with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to identify associated factors, and the concordances-discrepancies. A cross-sectional analytic study of 236 patients and their carers was carried out using the Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease (QoL-AD) scale, socio-demographic data and clinical examination. Patients scored the QoL-AD more favourably than did caregivers. Cognitive deterioration did not affect the perception of QoL-AD.

This article explores the experiences of family carers of older people in using support services in six European countries: Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the UK. Following a common protocol, data were collected from national samples of approximately 1,000 family carers per country and clustered into comparable subgroups to facilitate cross-national analysis. Carers' use of available support services is limited across Europe but is considerably higher in Germany, Sweden, and the UK than in Poland, Greece, and Italy.

Objective: The Aide dans la Maladie d'Alzheimer (AIDMA) study was conducted to determine whether a psycho-educational programme (PEP) for primary caregivers in addition to standard anti-dementia drugs for patients improves caregivers' psychological condition and patients' activities of daily life.

Social networks are seen to influence the use of health and social care services. In a secondary analysis of data from a longitudinal study of befriending of carers of people with dementia, the authors studied the relationship between network type and support from family/friends, voluntary sector befriending and residential/nursing care. Using Wenger's typology of social networks, finding suggest that the pattern of support use varies by differences in the structure of networks.

This article will reflect on the experience of undertaking a participatory action research influenced study within a module of a social work degree programme. In doing so it will touch on some of the literature associated with student, service user and carer involvement in qualifying programmes, and in particular on research and module design. It will outline the history of service user and carer involvement in respect of a specific module within a singular degree course.

Background: Informal care from relatives provides the foundation of care for people with Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is important to understand the conditions under which carers perform their, often neglected, task. The dementia carer's survey aimed to identify carers' needs, differences between countries with regard to dementia care and the level of satisfaction of carers with utilised services.

Background: Information is a key part of service provision to people with dementia and their carers, but there is no systematic review of the evidence. This study aimed to determine whether information services confer significant benefit for quality of life, neuropsychiatric symptoms and carer burden.

Method: A systematic review of intervention studies in people with dementia was carried out, focussing predominantly on the provision of information and/or advice.

Background: We aimed to investigate quality of life ratings among people with varying severity of dementia and their carers, recruited in general hospital.

Increasing evidence suggests that early diagnosis and management of dementia-related symptoms may improve the quality of life for patients and their families. However, individuals may wait from 1-3 years from the onset of symptoms before receiving a diagnosis. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of problem recognition, and the process of obtaining a diagnosis among individuals with early-stage dementia and their primary carers.