O'Sullivan, Liam

The Building Resources in Caregivers (BRiC) is a pilot feasibility trial that compared the effects of a 2‐week benefit finding writing expressive intervention to a control intervention, who wrote about the weather. Caregivers completed primary (benefit finding) and secondary (quality of life, depression and anxiety) outcome measures at pre (t1), immediately post‐test (t2) and 1 month later (t3). They also completed measures relating to trial feasibility, difficulty, and acceptance.

Project aims: 

Underpinned by an engaged research approach, CARERENGAGE has an overall aim to coproduce in-depth, practically-oriented knowledge and evidence-based research impacting family carers in Ireland. Specifically, this will involve Institute of Social Science in the 21st Century UCC (ISS21) and Care Alliance Ireland (CAI) facilitating and delivering three national workshops addressing three key research and policy areas identified by CAI, in consultation with its 85 CVO members.

This aim is supported by the following action-specific objectives:

Objective:This study aimed to review and synthesize findings of the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions aimed at improving outcomes for family carers of people with dementia. Method: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

Social media has a role in the lives of many family carers. We present a case study of Facebook (FB) use in Care Alliance Ireland, a small Irish not-for-profit carer support organization. In 2012, in its role as coordinator of National Carers Week, Care Alliance Ireland set up a Facebook page to increase reach and awareness of the week amongst family caregivers who used Facebook. Philanthropic donations in the early years of FB use enabled the large-scale and relatively efficient recruitment of followers through targeted social media ads.

Background: The WHO recommends involving carers in designing support programmes for people with dementia and their family carers. Moreover, researchers need to develop empowering and inclusive models of research in dementia care. Working with a network of current and former family carers of people with dementia, we co-designed an information and support resource to enhance the resilience of family carers of people with dementia.

The word ‘carer’, meaning family carer, is now widely used, especially in Western cultures. However, it is open to interpretation, is employed differently depending on circumstance, sector and setting, is at times resisted as a label by carers themselves, and is evolving as a term and role. This contribution reviews the term ‘carer’ and how it is understood, with particular reference to Ireland.