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Caring for an older adult with dementia at home, is a complex process that creates chronic stress, affecting to a greater or lesser degree the physical and mental health of caregivers, so the evaluation of objective and subjective burden, as well as stressors and ways to tackle them, should not be absent in the Occupational Therapy evaluation, not to mention the family member-caregiver dyad. The preliminary results of the stage of reality immersion, have allowed constituting a sample which initiates the collection of data through in depth interviews and life histories.

Background: Diabetes, a metabolic disorder, has reached epidemic proportions in developed countries. The disease has two main forms: type 1 and type 2. Disease management entails administration of insulin in combination with careful blood glucose monitoring (type 1) or involves the adjustment of diet and exercise level, the use of oral anti-diabetic drugs, and insulin administration to control blood sugar (type 2).

This paper describes the impact that learning about recovery has on mental health carers, exploring the implications of this research for UK social work and beyond. A steering group co-produced a training intervention on recovery that was delivered by the first author and a carer, both with experiences of recovery, to eleven carers. Mainly qualitative data, with supplementary socio-demographic data, were collected to evaluate the impact of this training. Thematic analysis was applied to the data.

An evaluation was conducted of voluntary sector family support workers (FSWs) working with families of schizophrenia sufferers. FSWs completed a diary schedule and interviews were conducted with 15 co-professionals from the FSWs' multi-disciplinary teams and 62 carers from FSWs' caseloads. Carers' problems were assessed using the burden component of the Social and Behavioural Assessment Schedule and the Lancashire Quality of Life Profile. Carers were asked about the type of support received and their satisfaction.

Objectives.  The aim of this study is to describe, from a gender identity perspective, the experiences of older men involved in the process of caring for a partner at home and the placement into a nursing home.

Background.  Few studies have paid attention to the importance of gender when considering the social experiences of older men providing care for an ill spouse and finally placing a partner in a nursing home. Further understanding is much needed of how older men experience the process of caring for a spouse from a gender identity perspective.

Background Previous studies have highlighted the effects of informal caring on mental health, but evidence for its wider impact remains scant. We explored associations between informal care and a range of health (and health-related) measures. We also considered previously neglected differences between informal care ‘at home’ and care elsewhere, along with neighbourhood attachment as a possible modifier of the associations we found.

Reports on the launch of ASTRID ( A Social and Technological Response to meeting the needs of Individuals with Dementia and their Carers) a European project funded under the Telematics Programme, involving the UK, Norway, Netherlands and Ireland. It aims to research and promote the use of assistive technology, a broad term which covers anything from simple devices for individuals to whole systems of adapting housing.

To date, little is known about carers’ experience of using online services and informa­tion. Data are reported from the Carers Online national postal survey of 3,014 adult carers and from an assisted access study involving 60 other adults who had been given training and cost-free Internet access at home. Half of the survey respondents reported having used the Internet on at least one occasion for a range of purposes related to both caring and other aspects of their lives.

Nurse-led case management programmes have become increasingly popular over the last 15 years. Countries such as the USA, Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands have long running case management programmes in place for frail elderly people. The Department of Health in England has recently introduced a 'community matron' role to provide case management to patients with highly complex long-term conditions; a group that is predominantly comprised of elderly people.