Article

In 2012 it was estimated 800 people fell daily in the West Midlands and fall detectors were an under-used resource. A fall detector does not prevent a fall but sends an alert so that someone knows a person has fallen making a difference to living independently by restoring confidence. There is a direct correlation between recovery and how long people lie on the floor after a fall; the speedier the response, the lower the risk of hospital admission and the shorter the length of hospital stay and subsequent support requirements on discharge.

Recent shifts toward individual choice and consumer-directed practices largely conflict with traditional expectations of familial obligation and informal caregiving. The research reported on in this paper aimed to understand how practitioners’ perspectives of spousal caregiving obligations impact on choice in rural communities. Seven focus groups were conducted in rural and outer regional areas of North East Victoria, comprising 42 practitioners who work with older couples who reside in the community.

AIM: To reflect on the methodological challenges of conducting a study exploring the effects on quality of life of being an informal carer for a person with palliative heart failure, as well as the factors that influence a carer's perception of caring.

BACKGROUND: There are multi-faceted influences on the positive and negative effects of being a carer for a patient with palliative heart failure. By conducting a mixed methods study the aim was to examine and explore similarities and differences of the phenomenon of being a carer.

The aim of promoting the maximum possible choice for service users and carers is – together with the goal of greater independence – central to recent community care policies. This paper sets out a typology of those key choices which users and carers are expected to be able to make within each stage of the assessment and care management process: choices about what services, when to receive them (i.e. at what times and for what duration) and from whom (i.e. which provider organization and which individual care worker).

Is it a sign of weakness for a social worker to feel emotional pain when a client dies in tragic circumstances? No, says Mark Sloman

Looks at a support group organized for young carers who have parents with a mental health problem. Highlights of the story of an 11-year old boy who lives with his mother with bipolar mood disorder; Estimated number of young carers who provide care for a parent with mental health problem; Impact of living with mentally ill parent on children.

Objective: To present a tool to analyse the design of support plans for informal care from a gender perspective, using the plans in Andalusia and the United Kingdom as case studies.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether spouses' psychological well-being changed between the first weeks after their partner's stroke and four months and one year later, and to study the relationship between spouses' psychological well-being and objective characteristics of the stroke patients.

DESIGN: Prospective, longitudinal study.

SETTING: Hospital care and follow-ups.

SUBJECTS: Sixty-seven consecutively enrolled spouses to first-ever stroke patients < 75 years.

Background  Many family carers find the support they receive in respect of their child's challenging behaviour unhelpful. This study sought to identify carer perceptions of the ways in which support is unhelpful and how it could be more helpful.

Methods  Thirteen mothers, caring for a child with intellectual disability and challenging behaviour, were interviewed. Parental perceptions and concerns regarding support received were investigated. Transcribed interviews were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis.

The article reports that nine-year old Chelsea Nye got a free cookery lesson from Ashley Palmer Watts, head chef of the Fat Duck restaurant in London, England. It notes that the chef was so impressed by a cookbook made by young carers at charity Jigsaw4u that he offered them the chance to hone their skills. It cites that Watts and the children cooked a three-course meal at the event in Mitcham, Surrey, England, organised by the charity.