Elsevier Ireland Ltd

Background and aims: Unpaid family carers, or caregivers as they are also known, often play a vital role in supporting others with illness or disability living in the community. Overall numbers of carers are growing but numbers of older carers are increasing particularly rapidly as populations age worldwide. However, little research has focused on this important older group. This qualitative study therefore investigated older carers’ experiences and their perceptions of their role.

Background: The study is aimed at developing a new measure devised to evaluate gains associated with caregiving for a person with dementia.; Methods: We conducted two studies with Spanish informal caregivers. In Study 1 a total of 152 participants responded to a preliminary set of 62 items referred to gains related with caregiving.