ABSTRACT
Introduction This chapter is concerned with the informal care of people with Alz heimer’s disease (AD), provided mainly by unpaid family members, together with the variety of formal support they receive. In considering the balance of care within member states, two areas of research can be drawn upon, both of which involve an assessment of the impact of care-giving upon the principal informal carer. The first focuses upon eco nomic aspects of care-giving, and how these may influence the carer’s decision to accept or relinquish the responsibility. The second is con cerned with the psychosocial aspects of care-giving and the impact of personal experiences upon family carers.
