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Aim This paper reports the prevalence and its related sociodemographic factors of informal caregiving by underage children in Austria. The quantity and intensity of caregiving activities, the motivation for and effects of caregiving and how this differs from non-caregiving children were investigated. Background Young carers are a worldwide phenomenon. Due to methodological and sampling problems, little quantitative data are available. Design Cross-sectional, descriptive study. Methods Based on a random selection of 85 schools and 474 classes, a total of 7403 children aged 10-14 years completed a self-reporting questionnaire that asked for children's help in their families. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Results In the sample, 4·5% caregiving children were identified. The average age of young carers was 12·5 years. Most young carers were female (69·8% vs. 52·7% in the non-young carers group). Young carers assumed more responsibilities (household tasks, general care and sibling care) than their peers. They showed a higher level of physical (e.g. headache 38·2% vs. 24·4%) and mental (e.g. to worry about 68·1% vs. 41·8%) adverse effects than non-young carers. Extrapolation suggests a rate of 3·5% young carers in underage children of 5-18 years in Austria. Conclusion Data on national level are essential preconditions to initiate support for young carers. Nurses can promote children's health and well-being through prevention of an inappropriate caregiving role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim This paper introduces the concept of acceleration-related demands in the care of older adults. It examines these new demands and their relation to cognitive, emotional, and physical job demands and to employee well-being. Background Various changes in the healthcare systems of Western societies pose new demands for healthcare professionals' careers and jobs. In particular today's societal changes give rise to acceleration-related demands, which manifest themselves in work intensification and in increasing requirements to handle new technical equipment and to update one's job-related knowledge. It is, therefore, of interest to investigate the effects of these new demands on the well-being of employees. Design Survey. Method Between March-June 2010 the survey was conducted among healthcare professionals involved in care of older adults in Austria. A total of 1498 employees provided data on cognitive, emotional, and physical job demands and on acceleration-related demands. The outcome variables were the core dimensions of burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization) and engagement (vigour and dedication). Results Hierarchical regression analyses show that acceleration-related demands explain additional variance for exhaustion, depersonalization, vigour, and dedication when controlling for cognitive, emotional, and physical demands. Furthermore, acceleration-related demands associated with increasing requirements to update one's knowledge are related to positive outcomes (vigour and dedication). Acceleration-related demands associated with an increasing work pace are related to negative outcomes such as emotional exhaustion. Conclusion Results illustrate that new demands resulting from social acceleration generate potential challenges for on-the-job learning and potential risks to employees' health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]