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In June 2005 it became mandatory for psychiatric trainees to receive training directly from people who experience mental health problems and their carers. This will be checked on approval visits to all training schemes, and accreditation may be withheld until this aspect of training is in place.

Caregivers may engage in benefit finding, that is, an increase in perceived positive growth, as a cognitive strategy for coping with stress. The Building Resources in Caregivers study will compare effects of a brief benefit finding writing intervention with a control intervention. Caregivers of people with mental and physical disabilities will be randomised into either a benefit-writing group or a neutral writing group. Caregivers will complete measures relating to themselves and care-recipients (e.g.

In less than a decade, children who provide care for ill or disabled parents and siblings have become a major target of social welfare services. 'Young carers' suffer, it is suggested, from a degradation in mental and physical health, have damaged educational careers, restricted social networks, and will suffer long-term consequences in adult life as a result of their childhood caring roles.

Changes in sexuality and intimacy after cancer were examined using open-ended questionnaire responses with 156 informal carers who were partners of a person with cancer. Interviews were conducted with 20 participants to examine changes in depth. Seventy-six percent of partners of a person with "nonreproductive" cancer types and 84% of partners caring for a person with cancer involving "reproductive" sites reported an impact on their sexual relationship. Cessation or decreased frequency of sex and intimacy was reported by 59% of the women and 79% of the men.

Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are common and problematic in clinical practice and represent a significant part of the day-to-day workload of the old age psychiatry team in hospital, institution and community settings. Improving recognition and management of BPSD can have a positive impact on the quality of life of patients and their carers and potentially delay the transition from home to institutional care.

ABSTRACT Telecare is often regarded as a win/win solution to the growing problem of meeting the care needs of an ageing population. In this paper we call attention to some of the ways in which telecare is not a win/win solution but rather aggravates many of the long-standing ethical tensions that surround the care of the elderly. It may reduce the call on carers' time and energy by automating some aspects of care, particularly daily monitoring. This can release carers for other caring activities. On the other hand, remote and impersonal monitoring seems to fall short of providing care.

It is estimated that there are 35.6 million people with dementia worldwide and this is projected to increase to over 115 million by the year 2050. Dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that significantly reduces survival. End-of-life care received by this group is often poor and does not equate to that offered in other life limiting illnesses. This review highlights results from a large UK study of informal carers of people with dementia to explore what are determinants of care for people with dementia and their family carers.