Et, Al

This resource is aimed at both care providers and carers focusing on the key messages from the dementia quality standard and explaining how each quality statement relates to each audience. It provides links to key resources, further information, and practical tools which are relative to carers and care providers as appropriate. Drawing on existing guidance, NICE quality standards describe the high priority areas for quality improvement using a set of specific, concise and measurable statements.

Caring for a spouse with dementia is stressful and respite care is sometimes used to reduce this burden. Spouses may find some aspects of caring rewarding but the literature on positive aspects of caring is limited. To describe activities enjoyed by patients with dementia together with their spouses, and examine their relationship with psychological morbidity in carers. A convenience sample of 46 patients with mild to moderate dementia (91% with Alzheimer's disease, AD) and their spouses were interviewed at home.

Rationale: Carers of people with dementia experience significant levels of stress in their everyday role. The National Dementia Strategy in England identifies the key role that carers play in supporting people with dementia living at home, often to the detriment of their social, emotional and physical health.

Presents an easy read guide to obtaining direct payments and choosing a carer. A Direct Payment is a cash payment from a Local Authority, to enable people to purchase their own services. The power to make Direct Payments is given to Local Authorities under the Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996, which came into force on the 1st April 1997. Guidance to accompany the Act specifically included people with a learning disability.

Objectives: The topic of how primary informal caregivers cope with their caregiving demands has generated significant research. However, little is known about secondary informal caregivers, who often share caregiving responsibilities. This cross-sectional study aims to analyse and compare the use and effectiveness of coping strategies of primary and secondary informal caregivers of dependent elderly people, living at home.

The voluntary and community sector (VCS) has a long tradition of providing services directly to the community and specific client groups. In doing so, the VCS has built up a reputation for diversity and innovation and for meeting the needs of people who often fall outside of the so-called mainstream health and social care system. People’s expectations of public services generally and the NHS in particular are increasing year on year. A one-size fits all approach is no longer acceptable.

Objectives: To review current understanding of the knowledge and information needs of informal caregivers in palliative settings. Data sources: Seven electronic databases were searched for the period January 1994–November 2006: Medline, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Embase, Ovid, Zetoc and Pubmed using a meta-search engine (Metalib®). Key journals and reference lists of selected papers were hand searched. Review methods: Included studies were peer-reviewed journal articles presenting original research.

An estimated 315,000 unpaid carers aged 16 to 64 in England, predominantly women, have left full-time or part-time employment to provide care. n A key threshold at which carers in England are at risk of leaving employment occurs when care is provided for 10 or more hours a week, a lower threshold than previously thought. n The public expenditure costs of carers leaving employment are estimated at £1.3 billion a year, based on the costs of Carers Allowance and lost tax revenues on foregone incomes alone.

This study reports on the experiences of 25 family carers of the hospital discharge planning process for their family member with a dementia. Analysis of the data indicates that the needs of family carers were not always addressed in the hospital discharge process and that discharge planning and execution is in need of improvement.