A review of the information and support needs of family carers of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Aims And Objectives: The objectives of this narrative review were to identify: (1) The information and support needs of carers of family members with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; (2) appropriate interventions to support carers in their caregiving role; (3) information on carers' needs as reported in studies of patients living with COPD in the community.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a major health problem in the UK resulting in significant burden for patients, families and the health service. Current National Health Service policies emphasise, where medically appropriate, early discharge for acute exacerbations, hospital-at-home care and other models of community care to prevent or reduce re-hospitalisations of people with chronic conditions.

Patterns of maternal responding in postpartum mothers with schizophrenia.

Little is known about how schizophrenia might affect how a mother responds to her infant, such as whether responding is reduced or impaired. The aim was to identify, from brief videotaped interactions, whether the responses of mothers with schizophrenia were fewer, less positive, more negative, and more 'abnormal' than mothers with affective disorder, and whether their infants (mean age: 15 weeks) lacked activity or initiation to which mothers could respond. Mothers with schizophrenia (N=14) were as responsive as mothers with affective disorder (N=31), but they showed markedly low positive responsiveness.

Content and style of speech from mothers with schizophrenia towards their infants.

Schizophrenia can affect verbal communication and relational processes, but how it might disrupt maternal infant-directed (ID) speech is unknown. Maternal speech characteristics were coded, blind to clinical information, from brief videotaped mother-infant interactions of 14 mothers with schizophrenia and 36 mothers with similar hospitalisation but with other clinical diagnoses. Compared with the non-schizophrenia group, the speech of mothers with schizophrenia was less infant-focused.

Smoking cessation interventions in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the role of the family: a systematic literature review.

Aim: This paper is a report of a systematic review to assess the effectiveness of family-focused smoking cessation interventions for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and to determine what data on families are documented in studies of smoking cessation interventions.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a major public health problem and cigarette smoking is the most important factor contributing to its development and progression. However, smoking cessation rates are low and relapse is common.

What predicts poor mother-infant interaction in schizophrenia?

Background: Poor clinician-rated parenting outcome and observed interactive deficits in mothers with schizophrenia admitted to a psychiatric mother and baby unit (MBU) reflect continuing concerns over the parenting capacity of this group. However, little is known about whether interaction deficits are accounted for by severity of illness or adverse social circumstances typically experienced by these mothers.

Method: Thirty-eight women with severe perinatal illness (schizophrenia n=13; affective disorders n=25) and their infants were observed in play interaction a week prior to MBU discharge.

Prevalence and predictors of parenting outcomes in a cohort of mothers with schizophrenia admitted for joint mother and baby psychiatric care in England.

Objectives: Most women with schizophrenia have children. Schizophrenia has been identified as an independent predictor of poor parenting outcome following joint mother and baby psychiatric admission. We aimed to describe the characteristics of these women postnatally and to estimate the prevalence of, and identify independent predictors of, parenting outcomes.