The role of carers in evaluating mental health services for older people.
OBJECTIVE
To examine, using the published literature and local service experience, the contributions that carers can make to the development and evaluation of specialist mental health services for the elderly.


METHODS
MEDLINE search for relevant papers about carers and the elderly, especially with mental disorders; review of recent experience of service planning, implementation and evaluation in the Cambridge area.


RESULTS
Increased emphasis on the role of carers in recent literature, extending into acknowledgement of the carer perspective in official publications; few papers on the role of carers specifically in evaluating services, with only one study looking solely at an old age psychiatry service.


CONCLUSIONS
There is considerable scope for involving carers in the development and evaluation of services, though there are also some potential concerns, not least that carers and users may have different perspectives. These issues are discussed, along with possible future developments, such as the need for a standardized assessment of carer satisfaction.
Dening
T
T
Psychiatric Services for the Elderly, Addenbrooke's NHS Trust, Cambridge, UK. tom.dening@dial.pipex.com
Lawton
C
C
D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers; D005260:Female; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation