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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Psychological distress amongst informal supporters of frail older people at home and in institutions | | Author(s) | Deborah Buck, Barbara A Gregson, Claire H Bamford |
| Corporate Author | Resource Implications Study Group, Cognitive Function and Ageing Study, Medical Research Council - MRC |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 12, no 7, July 1997 |
| Pages | pp 737-744 |
| Keywords | Stress ; Informal care ; Living in the community ; Care homes ; Nursing homes ; Longitudinal surveys. |
| Annotation | A 2-year longitudinal survey of informal carers, part of the Medical Research Council's Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (MRC CFAS), used the 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), to examine which factors best predict psychiatric morbidity. Stepwise multiple regression indicated main predictors of high GHQ scores in key supporters were: having at least three problems of behaviour; having to alter working hours; and being female. Variables predicting low GHQ scores were: supporters able to leave subject all day; subjects never wandering; and supporters were "other relatives" or friends of the subject. For visitors, spouses were most likely to have high GHQ scores. Results suggest the need for greater collaboration between formal and informal care. Little work has been carried out to ascertain which interventions are most effective in alleviating carer stress. A series of randomised controlled trials to determine long-term effectiveness of various interventions for different groups of carers is required. |
| Accession Number | CPA-970807259 A |
| Classmark | QNH: P6: K4: KW: LHB: 3J |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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