Rarecare: A policy perspective on the burden of rare diseases on caregivers in Latin America.

In Latin America (LA), 40-50 million people live with rare diseases (RDs) that require constant monitoring, care, and attention. Caregivers help them with their basic life activities and medication administration, which they would otherwise be unable to perform. Family caregivers complement healthcare and social security systems; however, their unpaid work is often underappreciated and under-protected.

[Caring ability of family caregivers of children with cancer].

Objective To describe the caring ability of family caregivers of children with cancer. Method This is a descriptive, exploratory study with a quantitative approach. A sample of 85 family caregivers of children with cancer was taken.

Development of a functional model of nursing care in cancer.

Objective: To propose and validate a functional model that permits addressing, guiding, and qualifying nursing care in the Colombian National Cancer Institute.

Methodology: Within the framework of the teaching-service work and as response to the priorities established by the National Cancer Institute, the need to have a model was determined to better understand the nursing work in the institution. For this purpose a study was conducted in three phases: 1) Analysis of the context, 2) Elaboration and analysis of the narratives of care, and 3) Development of the Functional Model of Nursing Care from the narratives.

[Social support through using ICT for family caregivers regarding people suffering chronic disease].

Objective: The study was aimed at determining the effectiveness of social support using information and communication technology (ICT) for family caregivers regarding people suffering chronic disease.

Materials And Methods: This descriptive exploratory study involving 144 family caregivers for people suffering from chronic disease was carried out in Bogota during 2008 and 2009. It was carried out in three phases: planning and designing ICT strategies (including a pilot trial and selecting the target population), implementing the ICTs in support of the target population and data analysis regarding implementing the ICTs, with a description of the indicators of structure and process for ICT use and results of ICT use in providing social support.

[Evaluating a programme for strengthening family-caregivers' ability to care for the chronically ill].

Objective: The study evaluated the effectiveness of the "Caring for the caregivers" programme which was designed to strength family caregivers' ability to care for people suffering from chronic disease.

Methodology: The study used a quasi-experimental design, having study and control groups, and measured caring ability before and after the intervention. 250 family caregivers were included in the study.