http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (HealthDay) -- Many elderly people with dementia live and die at home rather than in nursing homes, a new study has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-older-people-dementia-home.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Fri, 11 May 2012 16:10:01 EST news255968543 The demand for caregivers is growing rapidly as California's population ages, but the majority of state's Medi-Cal caregivers earn poverty or near-poverty wages and have poor access to health care and food, a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-majority-california-medi-cal-caregivers-poverty.html Health Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:46:20 EST news253374353 (HealthDay) -- Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is not associated with adherence to pediatric asthma treatment, according to a study published online April 9 in Pediatrics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-alternative-medicine-doesnt-affect-asthma.html Inflammatory disorders Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:19:52 EST news253286376 Parents should think twice before brushing off their child's calls to "look at me!" A Concordia study published in the journal Child Development is the first to show that toddlers' expectations of how their parent will respond to their needs and bids for attention relate to how eager they are to collaborate and learn. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-toddlers-eager-collaborate.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:03:25 EST news251395385 For every individual who's a victim of Alzheimer's — some 5.4 million persons in the United States alone — there's a related victim: the caregiver. Spouse, son, daughter, other relative or friend, the loneliness, exhaustion, fear and most of all stress and depression takes a toll http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-simple-low-cost-yoga-coping-quality.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:26:17 EST news250867570 Veterans are almost twice as likely as the general public to have chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and heart failure. Therefore, veterans may require more assistance from informal caregivers, especially as outpatient treatment becomes more common. A University of Missouri researcher evaluated strain and satisfaction among informal caregivers of veterans with chronic illnesses. The findings show that more than one third of veterans' caregivers report high levels of strain as a result of taking care of their relatives; yet, on average, caregivers also report being satisfied with their caregiving responsibilities. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-caregivers-veterans-chronic-illnesses-stressed.html Health Thu, 08 Mar 2012 12:00:01 EST news250428895 In this week's PLoS Medicine, Abdullah Baqui from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA and colleagues systematically review studies describing newborn care-seeking behaviours by caregivers in low- and middle-income countries. The study's findings highlight the lack of a standardized and consistent approach to neonate care-seeking behaviours described in the literature. Despite the large variations in results, care seeking for newborn illnesses in LMICs appears to be low in general and remains a key challenge to improving neonatal mortality. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-care-seeking-newborn-illness-low-middle-income.html Health Wed, 07 Mar 2012 09:21:19 EST news250334472 (AP) -- The Obama administration declared Alzheimer's "one of the most feared health conditions" on Wednesday as it issued a draft of a new national strategy to fight the ominous rise in this mind-destroying disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-alzheimer-disease_1.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:10:01 EST news249152439 (Medical Xpress) -- Taking care of an aging or disabled loved one can be hazardous to your health. But certain personality traits appear to reduce caregivers' risk for health problems, reports a new Cornell study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-caregiver-personality-traits-affect-health.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:50:01 EST news248419867 Patients who have had total joint replacement (TJR) are expected to return to their physician's office or clinic regularly for routine follow-up care. In a new study presented today at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), researchers asked 210 TKR patients (with no known complications) to either complete a Web-based follow-up, which included an online survey and an X-ray taken at the nearest Internet-enabled facility; or, to return to the clinic/office for their regular appointment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-online-joint-surgery-effective-patients.html Other Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:22:45 EST news247926152 A study led by the University of Kentucky researcher Elaine Wittenberg-Lyles found that hospice family caregivers are "second order patients" themselves and require their own unique care needs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-hospice-caregivers-routine-interventions.html Health Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:26:54 EST news241882007 When a person with mild cognitive impairment is agitated or restless, caregivers can expect to find they are more edgy as well. According to research conducted at Virginia Tech, the more a caregiver's day is disrupted by the unsettled behaviors of their loved one, the more they find themselves unable to meet or balance their own home and family work loads. This heightens the effect of elevated stress levels on their own bodies, placing caregivers at risk for current and future health problems. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-caregivers-health-problems.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:15:48 EST news241712136 Family caregivers of people with dementia experience more burden and are at greater risk of developing depression than caregivers of people with a chronic illness. A new evidence review from the Netherlands finds that a psychotherapy technique called cognitive reframing can help reduce caregivers’ stress when they are caring for loved ones with dementia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-cognitive-reframing-dementia-caregivers-depression.html Health Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:00:01 EST news240050638 Social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube can be powerful platforms to deliver and receive healthcare information, especially for patients and caregivers who are increasingly going online to connect and share experiences with others with similar medical issues or concerns. However, these sites may lack patient-centered information and can also be sources of misleading information that could potentially do more harm than good, according to the results of two separate social media-related studies unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's ACG) 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-social-media-role-delivery-healthcare.html Health Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:11:30 EST news239278115 The stigma of psychosis can isolate carers and make them more reluctant to access crucial support, especially in migrant communities. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-stigma-burden-psychosis.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:45:39 EST news238232729 Child Passenger Safety Week is celebrated every year to remind parents and other caregivers of the need to keep children of all ages properly restrained in a seat that meets their weight and height requirements. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-kids-properly.html Health Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:47:01 EST news236260006 Family members or friends caring for aging or disabled individuals in California are under both financial and emotional strain and are likely to face even greater burdens, given recent cuts in state support for programs and services that support in-home care, write the authors of a new policy brief by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-stressed-caregivers-friends-relatives-emotional.html Health Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:57:24 EST news235832213 (AP) -- As her mother's Alzheimer's worsened over eight long years, so did Doreen Alfaro's bills: The walker, then the wheelchair, then the hospital bed, then the diapers - and the caregivers hired for more and more hours a day so Alfaro could go to work and her elderly father could get some rest. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-families-urge-action-alzheimer.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:04:38 EST news235062121 A higher proportion of female nurses among intensive care teams may decrease individuals' risk of professional burnout, according to Swiss researchers who studied the factors related to burnout in the high-stress setting of the intensive care unit (ICU). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-importance-team-composition-icus.html Health Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:40:22 EST news233314787 By 2012, an estimated 14 million people will serve as distance caregivers to family members who live across the state, across the region, even across the country. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-distance-caregivers-advanced-cancer-patients.html Health Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:55:38 EST news232034118 Caregivers and their relatives who suffer from mild to moderate dementia often have different perceptions regarding the amount and quality of care given and received. A study by researchers at Penn State and the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging examined a major source of those differences -- caregivers do not understand the things that are important to their relatives with dementia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-caregivers-relatives.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:25:39 EST news231416702 Adult day care services significantly reduce the stress levels of family caregivers of older adults with dementia, according to a team of Penn State and Virginia Tech researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-adult-day-much-needed-family-caregivers.html Health Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:33:13 EST news230211183 A new report from the National Research Council recommends steps the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies and professional associations can take to ensure that the medical devices and health information technology used in home health care are easy and safe for laypeople to use and that caregivers, whether formal or informal, are well-trained. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-home-medical-devices-easy-to-use-caregivers.html Health Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:18:30 EST news230210269 (Medical Xpress) -- More than seven in 10 low-income families in a new University of Nebraska-Lincoln study struggled to reach adequate levels of nutrition in their diet, researchers said. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-low-income-families-diets-fall-short.html Health Wed, 22 Jun 2011 10:13:22 EST news227956360 If your parent, spouse or best friend developed dementia this year, would you be prepared to care for them? How would you know if they wandered outside in the middle of the night and couldn’t find their way home? How would you feel if they no longer remembered your name? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-caregivers.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 03 Jun 2011 08:41:59 EST news226309307 Currently, one in five elderly patients discharged from a hospital is readmitted within a month. Seeking to address the human and substantial financial burden of revolving door hospital readmissions, the Affordable Care Act proposes a number of initiatives to improve care and health outcomes and reduce costs for the growing population of chronically ill people in the U.S. While transitional care is a central theme in these provisions, there is little information available to guide those responsible for implementing these important opportunities. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-revolving-door-hospital-re-admissions.html Health Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:28:19 EST news226146487 Attitudes toward end-of-life care for cancer patients vary, but most patients, family members, oncologists and members of the public are receptive to withdrawing futile life-sustaining treatments in people who are dying, found a Korean study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-attitudes-end-of-life-survey-cancer-patients.html Cancer Mon, 30 May 2011 14:48:24 EST news225985692 Caring for a family member with a mental illness can be a taxing experience marked by personal sacrifices and psychological problems. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-caregivers-mentally-ill-kin-cope.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 19 May 2011 11:04:08 EST news225021828 Among children whose parents and other primary caregivers have limited English proficiency, there is an associated increased length of hospital stay and decreased number of home health care referrals for pediatric inpatients with infections requiring long-term antibiotics, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-limited-english-proficiency-parents-length.html Health Mon, 02 May 2011 17:06:44 EST news223574788