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Distress is commonly experienced by those caring for someone with dementia, and can occur whether the carer is living with a person with dementia, or supporting a person with dementia who lives alone to maintain their independence. It is essential for health and social care professionals to support family carers to balance their needs with those of the person they care for. However, this might be challenging because many influencing factors can affect these needs, and identifying the needs of the family carer and balancing them with the needs of the person with dementia is often complex.

Dementia series 28. The number of people with dementia is expected to increase globally. People with dementia are not affected in isolation and any intervention should also support their families and carers. Intervention is best delivered using a relationship-centred approach and a case management model. Case management has an established and successful history in supporting people with long-term conditions and those with a diagnosis of severe mental illness.

Aim To establish the effectiveness of a restorative home support service on institutional-free survival in frail older people referred for needs assessment. Method A randomised controlled trial of Community Flexible Integrated Responsive Support Team versus usual care in 113 older people at risk of institutionalisation in New Zealand. Primary outcome was death or permanent institutional care evaluated in a Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for baseline prognostic variables.

Barnardo’s, the children’s charity, has produced a revised version of its resource pack, Keeping the Family in Mind, after the first 500 packs sold out.

New measures to support young carers of people with mental problems could have wider implications, says Tim Turner.

The article reviews the web site www.youngcarer.com. Young carers have specific needs that are not being met and this initiative provides information advice and training to anyone who works with young carers and their families. The website provides an online forum for those working with young carers, sharing ideas and experiences and identifying scope for collaborative project work.

Focuses on the study conducted by the University of Wales which identifies the social care needs of informal carers for dependent adult relatives from a Bangladeshi community in Wales. Health risk assessment of the community; Assessment of the health care services in the community; Necessity for community nurses to be culturally proficient through the provision of accurate education.

Caring for a chronically ill relative takes a physical and mental toll on young carers, suggests a study in Austria.

'Hidden carers' refers to informal carers who may not recognise themselves as carers and so do not, or struggle to, access support. This may apply to carers of people with long-term conditions, such as heart disease, whose role involves more emotional work than practical tasks.

The article focuses on a strategy meant for providing support for carers across Northern Ireland. The strategy quotes census figures indicating that there are more than 185,000 unpaid carers in Northern Ireland, equating to about 11 percent of the population. Carers need some help and support to enable them to continue in their caring role. The strategy include the identification of those acting in a caring role, information for carers, support services, the special needs of young carers and training and employment.