Examined personality factors and coping strategies among 50 spouse caregivers of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia. Results showed that personality traits explained 60% of variance in emotion-focused coping, 30% of variance in problem-focused coping, and 15% of variance associated with social support coping.…

Analyzed how nurses deal with terminal and dying patients in two inpatient wards in Belgian general hospital. Observed that nurses often felt dissatisfied with their terminal caregiving. Suggests terminal care include specific physical, social, religious, and psychological services, given to terminal patient and family, to obtain as high a level…

Caregivers (n=158) from Swedish nursing home rated severely demented person as painful, apathetic, suffering, weak, afraid, sad, cold, dark, rough, and ugly. Four years later, comparable group of 93 caregivers answered revised questionnaire. Results were nearly identical to first administration. (Author/NB)

Advance directives allow individuals to maintain control of their health care should they become unable to communicate. To benefit from them, adults need to be educated about their purpose and use, advanced medical technology, and end-of-life decision making. (SK)

The greatest difficulties for caregiving families are transitions of autonomy. This article focuses on the roles that family therapists can play at key moments in the post-childrearing phases of the family life cycle when someone's capacity for autonomy is changing. (MKA)

Compares cultural influences on caregiver burdens of Korean adult children and American adult children caring for parents with dementia. Identifies culturally specific values, norms, and customs associated with low or high burden. Findings show low burden for Korean caregivers and high burden for American caregivers. (MKA)

An explanation for wives' shift in preferences about the division of child care labor before and after the birth of their first child is tested (N=69 couples). Evidence is presented that love for their husbands motivates wives to align their preferences with their husbands'. The mediating role of love is explored. (Author/EMK)

Assessed the relative contribution of dynamic and summary features of vocal frequency to the discrimination of pragmatic categories in infant-directed speech. Forty-nine mothers were instructed to use their voice to get their infant's attention, show approval, and provide comfort. Findings suggest that both dynamic and summary features are…

Purpose: This study examined how the amount of informal care received by disabled elders changes when they are receiving publicly paid home care, and whether formal service use, disability, caregiving arrangements, and demographic characteristics of older adults predict changes in the amount of informal care. Design and Methods: Hierarchical…

Purpose: We assess the effect of consumer-directed care on the emotional, physical, and financial well-being of the primary informal caregivers of the Medicaid beneficiaries who voluntarily joined Arkansas's Cash and Counseling demonstration. Design and Methods: The demonstration randomly assigned beneficiaries to a program in which they could…

The author reviewed the literature to identify the variables associated with home health care utilization using the Andersen-Newman model as a framework for analysis. Sixty-four studies published between 1985 and 2000 were identified through PUBMED, Sociofile, and PsycINFO databases. Home health care was defined as in-home skilled nursing,…

Purpose. Most patients and families with dementia are cared for in primary care clinics. These clinics are seldom designed to provide the necessary comprehensive care. The purpose of this article is to describe nonpharmacologic protocols for the management of patients with Alzheimer's disease and their families that are administered as part of a…

Purpose: Barriers to family involvement in the nursing home with the potential for change through intervention are examined, including transportation, caregiver health, relationships with staff, and resident characteristics. Design and Methods: Data were collected for 93 family caregiver-resident pairs by means of telephone interviews and chart…

This explanatory, descriptive study examines whether a relationship exists between certain psychosocial factors or clusters of factors and parents' or caregivers' behaviors regarding the type of maltreatment inflicted on a child. This study examines physical abuse, neglect, and both physical abuse and neglect cases. Results show that physical…

This study evaluated the impact of an information and referral intervention designed to help family caregivers of people with dementia obtain needed health and human services. Caregivers (N = 608) of community-residing people with dementia were surveyed about their need for and use of community services. Of the 608 caregivers, 203 agreed to be…