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[english] The Department of Medical Sociology as part of the Medical Faculty of the University of Hamburg has developed a teaching concept focussing on doctor-patient-communication. Elements of the framework for implementing the concept are: 12 hours for the whole course, teaching has to be provided for 20 groups per year, continuous evaluation by students. Each student has to conduct an interview with an (ex-)patient on "patient's view of illness and health care". There is one teaching session about 4 hours for preparation, and another one for discussion of experiences with and results of the interviews. The concept takes into consideration the requirements both of the official curriculum for medical sociology and the new national regulations for physicans' examinations (Ärztliche Appprobationsordnung). In conclusion, a teaching model which is based on having the first experience of a structured patient interview is feasible for about 400 students in their first semester. The concept and in particular the interview are well accepted and positively evaluated by the students. In the last term, mean of overall satisfaction is about 5 on a 6-point agreement scale. The concept of the course in medical sociology (conducting a patient interview) can be applied in other universities. However, transferability depends on a time frame of about 0,75 hours per week during the semester. [german] Im Institut für Medizin-Soziologie der Medizinischen Fakultät Hamburg wurde ein Kurskonzept für das erste Semester entwickelt, das die Arzt-Patienten-Interaktion ins Zentrum stellt. Rahmenbedingungen für die Umsetzung sind: 0,8 Semesterwochenstunden (= ca. 12 Untersichtsstunden), 20 Kurs-Gruppen jährlich einmal im Wintersemester, kontinuierliche studentische Evaluationen. Als Kernelement des Kurses wird von jedem Studierenden ein Interview mit einem (Ex-)Patienten geführt. In je einem Zeitblock von ca. 4 Unterrichtsstunden wird das Interview vor- und nachbereitet. Als Hilfestellung dient ein Skript zum Thema des Kurses "Kranksein und Krankenbehandlung aus Patientensicht". Das Konzept berücksichtigt sowohl den Gegenstandskatalog der Medizinischen Soziologie als auch die Forderung der Approbationsordnung nach stärkeren klinischen Bezügen im Abschnitt Medizin 1. Als Schlussfolgerungen lassen sich festhalten: Ein Kursmodell für ca. 400 Studierende, in dessen Zentrum die erste Erfahrung eines strukturierten Gesprächs mit (Ex-)Patienten steht, ist machbar. Die Ergebnisse der studentischen Evaluation zeigen, dass der Kurs im Verlauf von vier Semestern zunehmend positiv bewertet wird. Im letzten Wintersemester 2005/2006 wird ein Wert von knapp 5 auf einer 6-stufigen Zustimmungsskala im Hinblick auf verschiedene Merkmale der Prozess- und Ergebnisqualität erreicht. Das Konzept ist mit Anpassungen an andere Rahmenbedingungen auch andernorts verwendbar.

This paper examines differences in work restrictions of midlife family carers of older people in terms of prevalence, gender and explanatory variables, in six European countries: Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. A sample of 2,897 carers aged 45–64 was extracted from the EUROFAMCARE (Services for Supporting Family Carers of Older People in Europe: Characteristics, Coverage and Usage) European project database, in order to analyse four possible work restrictions experienced in connection with the activity of care-giving: the reduction of working hours; giving up working; difficulties in career developments and forced occasional work. The results show that work restrictions are experienced differently between countries especially by women: they are reported to a higher degree in the United Kingdom, Germany and Greece, less so in Italy, and seldom in Poland and Sweden. Gender differences within countries are not so marked. Country differences are explained in the light of the different welfare regimes characterising the countries under investigation, in order to elucidate how policy makers may act to improve working carers' conditions through appropriate policies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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InformCare is a European Web platform that supports informal caregivers of older people by providing access to online information and professional and peer support. The aim of this study was to assess the usage and usability of a psychosocial Web-based program carried out in three European countries (Italy, Sweden, and Germany). A mixed-methods sequential explanatory design was adopted, comprising baseline and postintervention assessments, as well as combined thematic content analysis of results and focus group findings. A convenience sample of 118 caregivers was enrolled, of whom 94 used the services offered by the program at least once. The subsamples in the three countries used the platform in different ways, with a predominance of passive strategies (eg, seeking information and reading other people's comments) for Italian caregivers, and more active usage by Swedish and German caregivers. The usability assessment showed that the platform was perceived well by Italian and German caregivers, whereas technical problems affected the Swedish sample's experiences. Focus group data highlighted user satisfaction with the online support and reliability of the environment. Recommendations for practitioners are to ensure digital training for caregivers who have lower confidence in use of the Internet, to involve different healthcare professionals in the provision of professional support, and to adequately manage online community building.