Factors related to feelings of burden among caregivers looking after impaired elderly in Japan under the Long-Term Care insurance system

Since the 1970s, the burden of caregiving has been the subject of rather intense study, a trend that will continue with the rapid graying of populations worldwide. Since the Long-Term Care insurance system began in 2000, few cross-sectional studies have attempted to identify factors related to the feelings of burden among caregivers looking after the impaired elderly in Japan. In the present report, among 46 pairs of caregivers and impaired elderly, the elderly receiving regular nurses' visits in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan were assessed for problems with activities of daily living, the severity of dementia, the presence of behavioral disturbance, and cognitive impairment. The caregivers were asked to complete questionnaires in relation to their feelings of burden and caregiving situation. The results indicated that caregivers of impaired elderly with behavioral disturbances were more likely to feel a 'heavier burden.' Those temporarily relieved of caregiving three or more hours a day were less likely to experience 'heavier' caregiver burden than those who were not. Moreover, caregivers who found it 'inconvenient' to use care services tended to be more likely to feel a 'heavier' caregiver burden than those who did not. Recourse to respite services, which are ideally positioned to help, proved inconvenient because of their advance reservation system. More ready access to respite services in emergencies could do much to reduce caregiver burden.     

Children of Mothers Diagnosed with Serious Mental Illness: Patterns and Predictors of Service Use

Children who have a parent diagnosed with a mental illness are at risk of psychiatric and behavioral problems; yet, these children do not necessarily receive needed services. Research has investigated correlates of child mental health service use, but not for these high-risk children. This study is part of an NIMH-funded, longitudinal investigation and describes child problems, service use, and predictors of service use for 506 children of 252 mothers diagnosed with serious mental illness. Mothers are primarily poor, minority women from urban areas. A multilevel-model approach is used to examine service use for multiple siblings in a family. More than one third of children had received services (from school or mental health agencies) in their lifetimes. Service use was predicted by child demographic characteristics (being male, non–African American, and older), social context variables (more negative life events, less financial satisfaction, and more parenting dissatisfaction), and maternal psychiatric variables (positively by high levels of case management receipt and affective diagnoses, negatively by maternal substance abuse history). In a subsample of target children, mothers' rating of child behavior problems additionally predicted service use. Implications of results for research and intervention are discussed.     

Building a Model to Understand Youth Service Access: The Gateway Provider Model

Enhancing the functioning of parents, teachers, juvenile justice authorities, and other health and mental heal professionals who direct children and adolescents to services is a major mental health services concern. The Gateway Provider Model is an elaborated testable subset of the Network-Episode Model (NEM; B. A. Pescosolido & C. A. Boyer, 1999) that synthesizes it with Decision (D. H. Gustafson, et al., 1999) and organizational theory (C. Glisson, 2002; C. Glisson & L. James, 1992, 2002). The Gateway Provider Model focuses on central influences that affect youth's access to treatment, i.e., the individual who first identifies a problem and sends a youth to treatment (the "gateway provider"); and the need those individuals have for information on youth problems and relevant potential resources. Preliminary studies by the authors and other applicable studies (D. Carise & O. Gurel, 2003) show that providers' perception of need, and their knowledge of resources, and their environment are related to the decision to offer or refer to services, supporting key aspects of the Model.     

Inner-City Child Mental Health Service Use: The Real Question Is Why Youth and Families Do Not Use Services

OBJECTIVE: This study examines pathways to urban child mental health care as well as explores reasons why care was not received. METHODS: A single group longitudinal design was used to study initial attendance rates at an outpatient child mental health clinic and identify factors associated with initial service use for urban children and their families. RESULTS: Approximately one-third of families (n = 82) do not follow up with care despite their child being referred and an initial appointment scheduled. Yet, three-quarters of those who did not attend a first session still wanted services when interviewed. Factors most significantly related to service use were social support and parental skill efficacy. Miscommunication between adult caregiver and provider was the most often cited reason for non-attendance. CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant unmet need for care along with identification of significant barriers to access. Empirical findings can serve as the basis for modifying urban child mental health service delivery systems.     

What prevents older people from seeking treatment for urinary incontinence? A qualitative exploration of barriers to the use of community continence services

BACKGROUND: Urinary incontinence is a significant health problem for older people. Many people with incontinence do not seek services. Simple and effective treatments exist in primary care. OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to explore reasons why older people living in the community do not present for help with problems of urinary incontinence and to identify ways in which they may be assisted to access continence services. METHODS: In-depth interviews lasting an average of 1 h were conducted with 20 people aged over 65 years living in the community, purposively selected from a sample of patients who volunteered to be interviewed. RESULTS: Older people described ageing as a natural, degenerative process and had reduced health expectations. Urinary incontinence was commonly viewed as an inevitable aspect of ageing and, as such, something to be accepted and managed independently. Shame and embarrassment combined with generational differences in attitudes to disclosure about personal matters also prevented people from seeking advice. Relatively successful strategies to manage incontinence enabled people to contain their symptoms, although this was at a social, psychological and, in some cases, health cost. Older people in this sample had considerable co-morbidity, in many cases resulting in mobility problems. Despite regular contact with primary care professionals, they had seldom disclosed their urinary incontinence. CONCLUSION: A combination of personal attitudes and practical barriers prevent older people from seeking help for urinary incontinence. It is possible that older people would be more likely to seek help if asked specifically about urinary leakage by primary health care professionals.     

How is money spent on children's services?

Finance and activity data for the year 1999-2000 were used to identify the money spent on children's services in health and social care in a county with a population of 790,000. Total costs were almost pound 80m. Considerable amounts were spent on high cost, low volume activity. Local health and social care commissioners require this information to implement and monitor changes in children's services, particularly in light of the UK government proposals for children's trusts.     

What influences physiotherapy use by children with cerebral palsy?

AIM: To investigate factors that influence the frequency of physiotherapy currently used by a population of children with moderate to severe cerebral palsy (CP). METHODS: A survey using a postal questionnaire was sent to 212 parents of children with moderate to severe CP. The families were identified from a geographically defined case register of children with CP in Northern Ireland (the Northern Ireland Cerebral Palsy Register). Eighty-five per cent of parents responded. One-third of parent responses regarding their child's use of physiotherapy were validated with their child's physiotherapist and the level of agreement was high. RESULTS: Ninety-four per cent (169/180) of children received conventional physiotherapy from a statutory source during the school term. Of these, 61% (104/169) used 'intense' levels of physiotherapy (defined as at least twice a week). A higher proportion of intense users were children with severe CP compared with moderate CP (69% vs. 47%; P < 0.01); with moderate intellectual impairment (IQ 50) compared with severe (IQ 70) (81% vs. 64% vs. 39% respectively; P < 0.01) and at schools for physical disability (PD) compared with severe learning disability (SLD) or mainstream (MS) schools (82% vs. 66% vs. none respectively; P < 0.001). After controlling for severity of motor impairment and the presence and severity of intellectual impairment, children with CP at MS schools used on average significantly less physiotherapy compared with children with similar levels of motor impairment at PD schools (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Children with CP in MS schools use less physiotherapy compared with children with similar levels of disability in special schools. Organizing services around special schools may limit the degree to which children with CP and other disabilities are successfully integrated into MS education.     

Profile of patients attending Pediatric Emergency service at Chandigarh

Profile of children attending in a Pediatric Emergency Unit of an urban teaching hospital over a period of one year was analyzed. The total number of patients seen between September 1999 to August 2000 was 9205; there was a prepondence of boys (73%). The maximum number of patients were seen in the monsoon month of July and August. About half (52.5%) of the patients were infants. Fever (29.5%), breathing difficulty (17.4%) and diarrhea (14.5%) were the most common presenting symptoms. Respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses were the two commonest pediatric emergencies. About 2% (n-198) patients died within 24 hours of hospitalization; 42.3% deaths were in the age group of 0–28 days. Sepsis was the most common diagnosis in patients who died. This information may help in planning and development of a Pediatric Emergency unit and prioritizing residents, training.     

社区性与生殖健康教育和服务项目对青(少)年性相关态度的影响

目的:评价社区性与生殖健康教育和服务对未婚青(少)年性相关态度的影响。方法:在上海市某区两个乡镇开展以社区为基础的持续20个月干预性研究,干预组和对照组分别为15～24岁未婚青(少)年1220名和1007名。干预活动包括发放宣教材料、播放教育录像、组织讲座和小组讨论、提供咨询和避孕服务。通过干预前后的问卷调查对干预项目的效果进行。结果:干预组和对照组对象对绝大多数性相关问题的态度与看法在基线调查时无明显差别。两组总随访率为92％。干预后调查发现,干预组对象对男、女性婚前性行为持赞成态度的比例明显低于对照组,而持理解态度的比例高于对照组;认为婚前性行为对男、女未婚青年“有不良影响”的比例高于对照组。此外,干预组对象的安全性行为和自我保护意识增强。多因素分析结果显示,在调整了其它可能影响对婚前性行为和未婚妊娠态度的因素后,干预仍是影响对象对婚前性行为和未婚妊娠态度的因素之一。结论:以社区为基础开展的未婚青(少)年性与生殖健康教育和服务可在一定程度上改变青(少)年的性观念,使他们对性相关问题持更为积极和理性的态度。