Wooff, David

BACKGROUND: Mental health services are required to take account of the needs of carers, yet little is known about how services affect carers.

AIMS: This paper explores the relationship between the user's mental health problems, the services received and the impact of caring on carers.

METHODS: Sixty-four carers were interviewed, measuring their experiences of care-giving, carer stress and the service user's level of impairment. A robust, composite measure of user severity was derived.