title: What do informal carers need from district nursing services?
abstract: More than 5 million informal carers provide support to individuals who wish to remain within their own homes. The role of informal carers in maintaining people within their own homes has been identified as crucial. This article considers the assessment of need of informal carers in the primary care setting, placing particular emphasis on the role of the district nurse as an advocate for informal carers when working with other health and social care service providers. Central to working with informal carers and acting as an advocate is communication, and unless informal carers feel that they are involved in the decision-making process, and listened to, they are unlikely to access appropriate support.
authors.affiliation: King's College London, Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery. julie.bliss@kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bliss
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D017028:Caregivers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003142:Communication; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D004739:England; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006701:Home Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D011637:Public Health Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012144:Respite Care; D012944:Social Support; D012947:Social Work / Q000458:organization & administration; D014852:Wales