Carer interventions: an overview of service effectiveness

The importance of supporting carers is widely acknowledged. The impact of providing care, the diverse aspects of caring and particularly the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms experienced by carers has been highlighted. The primary goal of community-based interventions for carers is to improve their ability to manage care situations and provide resources to assist the carer with the purpose of reducing carer burden, stress, anxiety and depression. Carer interventions generally focus on respite, counselling and education programs, the evaluations of which have produced mixed results. This review paper, the fourth in a series, provides a summary of interventions generally available for carers and an overview of their effectiveness.