In her debut blog, Mary Larkin, Senior Lecturer in Health and Social Care at the Open University, examines a piece of qualitative research exploring the experiences of former carers and discusses what it might mean for policy and practice.
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This guide is the result of discussions with health professionals and people with diabetes Types 1 and 2, and surveys investigating the levels of service provision in London. The reason for this work is because people with from diabetes often suffer from mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, phobias, adjustment to their condition, eating [read the full story…]
Josephine Neale summarises a recent review of qualitative evidence that finds carers’ views are mixed and lie on a spectrum of acceptance of their relative as actively dying with dementia.
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Last July I wrote a blog (Helping patients and carers deal with a diagnosis of dementia: one size doesn’t fit all) about a systematic review of qualitative evidence (Bunn, 2012) relating to patients and carers experiences of reaching and adapting to a diagnosis of dementia. That blog was heavily influenced by personal experience of my [read the full story…]
The National Health Service is aiming to provide a patient-centred health service, and this involves all staff and all departments. NHS England has produced four “bite-size guides to patient and public participation”. The guides, in particular the first one, are aimed at clinical commissioning groups, to help them involve the public, especially patients and carers, [read the full story…]
Time and time again, research has shown that involving patients and carers in the treatment decision-making process is beneficial to all involved as it improves compliance, patient satisfaction and experience, and ultimately reduces cost for the service as a whole. So, it is crucial that commissioners take this into account when designing and procuring services. [read the full story…]
Life after cancer diagnosis and treatment is full of uncertainties for the patients and their caregivers. The possibility of cancer returning is hard to dismiss at least in the first few years after the end of treatment. Life has often changed in many imperceptible and subtle ways for people who have undergone cancer treatment, as [read the full story…]
Carers are integral to health care improvement. This report highlights evidence that shows “the economic value of the contribution they make is £119bn per year”. However, without support, carers can feel isolated, depressed, and may be living in poor financial circumstances, which can lead to poor health for the carer too. The problem health and [read the full story…]
Early diagnosis and intervention for people with dementia is increasingly considered a priority. But there are still considerable barriers to achieving this, and nervousness from practitioners on the possible negative effect of earlier diagnosis of a condition widely perceived as untreatable and life-changing. A recent systematic review by Bunn et al analysed the qualitative evidence [read the full story…]
Family and friends often play a very important role in supporting older people with long-term, severe mental health problems. It is estimated that 25% of the 6 million carers in the UK are supporting someone with a mental health problem (Carers Trust, 2007). Stress has been cited as having a major impact on the wellbeing [read the full story…]
