End of Life Care | Bereavement care | Assessment of carers' needs

Assessment of carers’ needs
Session overview
Description
This session outlines the areas that should be considered in a holistic assessment of carers' needs and highlights the risk factors that can impact on a carer's experience of death and bereavement.

This session was reviewed by Sim Koon and Richard Kitchen and last updated in January 2020.

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• identify the areas to be included in a holistic assessment of carers’ needs
• explain how a range of risk factors can impact on the grieving process and affect a carer’s bereavement outcome
• recognise the ethical and legal issues that commonly affect carers

Before commencing this session you should complete:

• Bereavement assessment and support (215-0209)
• Carer assessment and support (215-0210)

The term ‘informal carer’ is used to describe anyone who looks after someone who cannot manage at home without support due to disability, illness or a psychiatric problem. Family members commonly take on the role of informal carer but sometimes it can be a close friend of the person.

There are an estimated 100 million carers in Europe and about 6 million carers in the UK [1](read details regarding the reference).