Professional

Background: Informal caregivers have a vital role in supporting and caring for family members with dementia. Caregiving is complex and may lead to psychological, physical, social and financial stress for caregivers. Methods: This article reports the findings of an integrative review that explored the literature on the psychological effect of caring for a family member with dementia at home.

Minimal research has been undertaken into needs of partners of adolescents and young adults with cancer. However, it is understood to be important for adolescents and young adults with cancer to maintain a connection with healthy peers and that they regard their loved ones, including partners, as valuable to them during their cancer treatment. Research has also suggested that adolescents and young adults consider that loved ones and partners also need support and that this support is lacking in cancer services.

In the UK, the quality of post-diagnostic care and support for people with dementia and their family carers is variable and depends on the availability of services in each person's local area. This article considers the support services available for families affected by dementia and discusses how telephone helplines can assist those who may have no access to other types of support. It presents a case study describing a call to the Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline, a service run by nurses with expertise in dementia care and provided by the charity Dementia UK.

Integrated care has become too much a professionals' concept, in research and theory development, as well as in practice, especially in high-income countries. The current debate on integrated care is dominated by norms and values of professionals, while most of the care is provided by non-professionals. The paradigms of integrated care for people with complex needs need to be reconsidered. It is argued that non-professional care and care by local communities need to be incorporated as a resource and a co-producer of care.