Blackwell Scientific Publications

In Dutch policy and at the societal level, informal caregivers are ideally seen as essential team members when creating, together with professionals, co-ordinated support plans for the persons for whom they care. However, collaboration between professionals and informal caregivers is not always effective. This can be explained by the observation that caregivers and professionals have diverse backgrounds and frames of reference regarding providing care.

Aims: This study aimed at evaluating whether training on practical skills involved in providing care reduces the burden experienced by informal caregivers and improves their general health condition.; Background: A substantial number of informal caregivers lack skills to deliver poststroke assistance to older people after hospital discharge, which leads to burden situations as well as mental and physical health deterioration of the former.; Design: A quasi-experimental design.; Methods: This study involved 174 informal care

Overall satisfaction levels with social care are usually high but lower levels have been reported among black and minority ethnic (BME) service users in England. Reasons for this are poorly understood. This qualitative study therefore explored satisfaction with services among informal carer participants from five different ethnic groups.

Aims and Objectives: To examine whether chronic heart failure patient-carer dyads who disagree about the division of illness management tasks (incongruent) experience poorer psychosocial health and self-care, than those who agree (congruent).; Background: Informal carers often assist patients with chronic heart failure in the complex management of their illness, but little is known about how relationship dynamics may affect psychosocial health.; Design: A prospective cross-sectional study was adopted with a purposeful sample of 25 chronic h

Aims and Objectives: To examine the relationship between psychiatric patients' caregiver burden and anger expression styles.; Background: In the caregiving process, when coping with problems, caregivers may exhibit emotional and behavioural responses, which can produce distressful results. One of these responses is angry.

Aims and Objectives: To develop and examine a relocation stress intervention programme tailored for the family caregivers of patients scheduled for transfer from a surgical intensive care unit to a general ward.; Background: Family relocation stress syndrome has been reported to be similar to that exhibited by patients, and investigators have emphasised that nurses should make special efforts to relieve family relocation stress to maximise positive contributions to the well-being of patients by family caregivers.; Design: A nonequivalent co

Aims and Objectives: To describe the family caregivers' caregiving experience for stroke survivors and to identify the determinants of caregiving burden over 6 months.; Background: Sociocultural factors influence the caregiving experience in China.

Aims and Objectives: To review the literature concerning the feelings, thoughts and behaviours of nurses and family caregivers of hospitalised older persons when they communicate with one another.; Background: Communication between nurses and family caregivers of hospitalised older persons is not always optimal.