Articles

Research into the Effects of Care on a Carer's Quality of Life

26/09/2016

A team in Bradford has recently begun undertaking research that is looking into the effects that caring for people has on the carer themselves.

A three year research project is underway and is being run at the University of Leeds and the University of Bradford as well as contributions from other universities such as Bradford, Bangor and Cambridge. The teams will attempt to look into the effects that caring for people with dementia has on the person.

The NHS foundation trust, Bradford District Care, the Alzheimer’s Society and Dementia UK are just some of the organisations supporting the project.

The project was used the recent World Alzheimer’s Day to acknowledge the huge and hidden contribution made by the carers of people living with dementia, said Professor Jan Oyebode, of the University of Bradford, a co-investigator on the study.

A part of the study, named ‘DECIDE’ interviewed carers across Northern England and asked them about their lives with funding from The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council (MRC).

Professor Oyebode said: “These interviews highlight that dementia is a family affair, affecting all aspects of the lives of relatives as well as those who live with dementia. It is vital that services support carers and we hope our measure will provide a tool that promotes recognition of their needs.”

Researchers have previously highlighted the tremendous amount of stress felt by caregivers of people with dementia. This is especially the case where dementia patients live for a long time with the illness.

Nevertheless, support is available in the form of dementia café’s and social networking sites or websites such as this.

Dr Penny Wright, of the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds, who is leading the study, said: “We hear often about how difficult it is for people living with dementia and rightly so – but what about carers’ quality of life? The interviews we’ve done bring this into sharp focus. We hope this research will lead to development of a new measure with potential impact in three areas: identification of carers most at need, to inform development and evaluation of services, and for possible use in heath economics.”

Dr Catherine Moody, programme manager for neurodegeneration and stroke at the Medical Research Council, said: “The findings could have important implications for the way the quality of life of these dementia carers is measured, and should in turn improve the provision of vital help, advice and support services.”