Canadian Medical Association

Tracy et al argue that there is a pressing need for health care to be redesigned to make it less burdensome for those it exists to serve, namely patients and caregivers. Our hospitals need to treat family caregivers as partners in care, not as visitors. And physicians, in collaboration with interprofessional teams, need to identify and engage family caregivers better to foster greater caregiver confidence and capacity.

Intro: 'Every day, about 28% of Canadians provide care for a family member, friend or neighbour, and nearly half will do so at some point. Although many Canadians with chronic conditions and disabilities need care, the most common needs requiring caregiver help are age related. With 93% of older Canadians living at home, unpaid or informal caregivers provide up to 75% of care services, which equates to about $24–$31 billion in unpaid work annually. We must and can to do more to acknowledge and support informal caregivers in bearing this burden.'

Background: Case fatality after total anterior circulation stroke is high. Our objective was to describe the experiences and needs of patients and caregivers, and to explore whether, and how, palliative care should be integrated into stroke care.; Methods: From 3 stroke services in Scotland, we recruited a purposive sample of people with total anterior circulation stroke, and conducted serial, qualitative interviews with them and their informal and professional caregivers at 6 weeks, 6 months and 1 year.