Journal article

As dementia progresses, caregivers increasingly have to manage the decline of food-related abilities with little outside information or input from support services The provision of food coping skills and knowledge can lessen the burden on caregivers. However, there is little research on caregivers' perspectives on food-related services. This paper reports on a qualitative study to investigate informal caregivers' experiences of, and views on, food-related information and support services in dementia.

Aims In occupational settings, burnout is a common response to chronic exposure stressors and has been frequently documented in formal caregivers (i.e. paid psychiatric staff). However, the literature is limited on reports of burnout among informal caregivers and particularly within early psychosis groups. The current study sought to investigate reports of burnout in carers of young adults treated within a specialist early psychosis service and links with key appraisals reported about the illness and coping.

Purpose: To examine the impact of changes in an older person's frailty on the care-related quality of life of their informal caregiver.; Methods: Five research projects in the TOPICS-MDS database with data of both older person and informal caregiver at baseline and after 12 months follow-up were selected. Frailty was measured in five health domains (functional limitations, psychological well-being, social functioning, health-related quality of life, self-rated health).

Background: Country-specific data on resource use and costs associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) help inform governments about the increasing need for medical and financial support as the disease increases in prevalence.; Methods: GERAS II, a prospective observational study, assessed resource use, costs, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients with AD and their caregivers in Spain.

Objectives: This study was designed to determine the caregiver-proxy reliability of the Igbo-culture adapted urban version of the Maleka Stroke Community Reintegration Measure (I-MSCRIM).; Methods: This was a validation study involving 74 consenting stroke survivors and their 74 primary informal caregivers consecutively recruited from selected tertiary hospitals in South-East Nigeria (Igboland). The I-MSCRIM was researcher-administered to the participants.

Caregiver burnout is a serious concern among informal caregivers, especially for those who provide care to individuals with more severe limitations such as power mobility users. The Power Wheelchair Caregiver Assistive Technology Outcome Measure tool measures device specific and overall burden experienced by informal caregivers of power mobility users. A one-month, test-retest study was conducted to examine the reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity of the Power Wheelchair Caregiver Assistive Technology Outcome Measure.

Background: Informal cancer caregivers provide essential support to cancer patients, including performing direct medical/nursing tasks, assisting with activities of daily living, and offering social support.

Objective: Anxiety and depression are highly prevalent in patients with COPD and their informal carers, and associated with numerous risk factors. However, few studies have investigated these in primary care or the link between patient and carer anxiety and depression. We aimed to determine this association and factors associated with anxiety and depression in patients, carers, and both (dyads), in a population-based sample.; Materials and Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional study of 119 advanced COPD patients and their carers.

Background: Our ageing society is putting tremendous strain on public health and welfare programs to meet the needs of ageing individuals. Promoting informal caregiving is one way for policymakers to reduce this burden. However, caregiving may be experienced as stressful and is associated with adverse health consequences. While quite a lot of research focuses on caregiving for community-dwelling older adults, little is known about informal care in institutionalised long-term care (ILTC).

Research into informal caregivers' burden does not distinguish between different stages of impairment. This study explored the determinants of burden from an in-depth perspective in order to identify which determinants apply to which phases of impairment.; Methods: This was a cross-sectional study including frail older persons aged 65 and above. Instruments used were the interRAI Home Care, the Zarit-12 interview and an ad hoc economic questionnaire.