Journal article

Purpose of the Study: The evidence base for dementia care management interventions for informal caregivers (CGs) is strong, yet enrolment and sustained engagement in academic and community-based research trials is low. This study sought to examine rates and correlates of participation in a community-based, telephone-delivered dementia care management programme designed to address logistic and practical barriers to participation in CG trials and services.

The purpose of this study was to examine the acceptance of Global Positioning System (GPS) used to help people with dementia, who are at risk for wandering in their communities. The authors used a mixed methods research approach that included use logs, pre and post paper-based questionnaires, and focus groups. Forty-five client-caregiver pairs (dyads) were included to use one of the GPS devices for an average of 5.8 months over a 1-year period. GPS acceptance was high; dyads were likely to continue using the GPS.

Cigarette smoking poses significant health burdens for people with mental illness. They die sooner than they should, and smoking is a major contributor to their high rates of morbid chronic physical health conditions and early mortality, compared to the general population. Family carers provide important support to people with mental illness. However, family carers' perspectives of smoking by their family members with mental illness are largely absent from the research literature and from practice, despite smoking rates remaining high and quit rates remaining low for this population.

Objectives: Gratitude is widely perceived as a key factor to psychological well-being by different cultures and religions. The relationship between gratitude and coping in the context of familial dementia caregiving has yet to be investigated. Design: This study is the first to examine the associations among gratitude, coping strategies, psychological resources and psychological distress using a structural equation modelling approach.

Population ageing requires understanding the implications of eldercare. Using American Time Use Surveys, the authors find that caregivers spend less time on personal care and social activities/sports, and more time on housework, than individuals who do not provide any eldercare. They also report higher stress and lower happiness. In addition, caregivers may not provide care every day, but on days when they do, they also spend more time on housework and less on paid work, and report higher levels of sadness than on days when they do not provide care.

My research program considers family relationships across the life course: in early life, with a focus on disease prevention -- leveraging genetic risk information and relationships to motivate health-promoting behaviors -- and in later life, with a focus on informal caregiving -- identifying characteristics of those most vulnerable to, or resilient from, caregiver stress. It is fortuitous, if not tragic, then, that my research and personal worlds collided during my mother's final 8 months of life.

Objective: Accurate assessment of caregiver functioning is of great importance to gain better insight into daily caregiver functioning and to prevent high levels of burden. The experience sampling methodology (ESM) is an innovative approach to assess subjective experiences and behaviour within daily life. In this study, the feasibility of the ESM in spousal caregivers of people with dementia was examined, and the usability of ESM data for clinical and scientific practice was demonstrated.

Introduction: In a recent report, the American Heart Association estimated that medical costs and productivity losses of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are expected to grow from $555 billion in 2015 to $1.1 trillion in 2035. Although the burden is significant, the estimate does not include the costs of family, informal, or unpaid caregiving provided to patients with CVD. In this analysis, we estimated projections of costs of informal caregiving attributable to CVD for 2015 to 2035.

This article uses data from the 2015 Young Life and Times and Kids' Life and Times surveys to discuss the methodological challenges of identifying young carers in surveys. The article considers how children's interpretation of 'caring' might not correspond with the definition of 'young carer' that adults wish to capture. This article discusses how prior consultation with young carers to improve understanding did not have the outcome anticipated.

Essential tremor (ET) is a progressive neurological disease associated with functional disability, diminished quality of life and, in some individuals, poorer balance, cognitive impairment, depression and sleep dysregulation. Individuals with ET may rely on family members and friends to act as informal caregivers to assist with daily activities and provide emotional support. There is a high prevalence of embarrassment among individuals with ET, which may be a result of the outwardly visible nature of tremor.