Journal article

Background: Informal carers are essential in enabling discharge home from hospital at end of life and supporting palliative patients at home, but are often ill-prepared for the role. Carers' support needs are rarely considered at discharge. If carers are less able to cope with home care, patient care may suffer and readmission may become more likely. Aim: To investigate the implementation of an evidence-based Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) intervention to support carers during hospital discharge at end of life.

Aim: Early‐onset dementia (EOD) (defined as dementia onset before age 65) presents specific challenges and issues, adding to the negative impact of dementia on the health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) of both patients and their caregivers. However, very few published studies have specifically compared the HRQOL of caregivers of people with EOD and late‐onset dementia (LOD). This information is critical in allocating and prioritizing scarce health‐care resources.

Context: The aging of the world's population increasingly calls on older people to care for their cancer relatives. This scenario confronts clinicians involved with end-of-life care with an imposing challenge: elderly family caregivers could have a different perception of the burdens associated with assistance compared to their younger counterparts. Palliativists need to know what limits and resources of these new age categories of caregivers could be for a global management of dying patients with cancer and their family.

Background: There is a wide agreement that family and friends of people with aphasia (PWA) can play a crucial role in the rehabilitation of interpersonal communication. Therefore, speech and language therapists (SLTs) should include family and friends in the process of therapy. However, little has been said about the role of caregivers of severely disabled PWA in the rehabilitation of communication functions.

Objective: Grief reactions in bereaved caregivers of cancer patients have been identified individually as distinct prolonged grief disorder (PGD)—and major depressive disorder (MDD)—symptom trajectories, but no research has examined whether the patterns of change (trajectories) for PGD and MDD symptoms synchronize during bereavement.

Background: Sleep disturbance is an issue reported by caregivers. Waking at night is a feature of dementia and by proxy, sleep disturbance among caregivers is reported to be high. Little is known about the characteristics of dementia caregivers' sleep and the factors that may influence sleep disruption. The purpose of this study was to investigate the sleep characteristics and disturbances of Australian caregivers of a person living with dementia.

Background: Due to the progressive nature of dementia, it is important to understand links between disease severity and health-related outcomes. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between disease severity and the quality of life (QoL) of people with dementia and their family carers using a number of disease-specific and generic measures.

Background: Diabetes and Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) are the seventh and sixth leading causes of death in the United States, respectively, and they coexist in many older adults. Caring for a loved one with both ADRD and diabetes is challenging and burdensome.Objective: This study aims to explore diabetes-related topics in the Alzheimer's Association ALZConnected caregiver forum by family caregivers of persons living with ADRD. Methods: User posts on the Alzheimer's Association ALZConnected caregiver forum were extracted.

Background: The CarerQol instrument can be used in economic evaluations to measure the care-related quality of life of informal caregivers. Tariff sets are available for Australia, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, the UK, and the USA. Objective: Our objective was to develop tariff sets for the CarerQol instrument for Hungary, Poland and Slovenia and to compare these with the existing value sets. Methods: Discrete-choice experiments were carried out in Hungary, Poland and Slovenia.

Background Patients with end-stage kidney disease, receiving haemodialysis rely increasingly on informal carers to help manage their debilitating chronic disease. Informal carers may experience a negative impact on their quality of life exacting a toll on their physical, social and emotional well-being. Informal carers of patients with end-stage kidney disease receiving haemodialysis have significant unmet needs which may include physical and psychological issues, financial disadvantage and social isolation.