Many children under the age of 18 are drawn into unpaid caring roles because they live in families where there is chronic illness, mental health problems or substance misuse, and because other alternatives are not available. Many of these children, widely referred to as ‘young carers’, provides regular and significant amounts of care, often ‘hidden’ because of the absence of awareness by professionals in the fields of education, health and social care. While there are some positive outcomes for children, published research also shows that children’s caring tasks can have negative outcomes, especially during the transition between school and further/higher education and paid work. This paper presents an overview, cross-national and comparative analysis of the different legislation, policy and service frameworks to support young carers in a number of countries. It utilises a qualitative assessment approach and a 7-point classification to understand the state of development and progress since 2017. While the legislation, policy and service frameworks differ significantly among the observed countries, an international and collaborative research network has emerged in the last five years. This plays a vital role as a driver for increasing the awareness of young carers and further national and cross-national policy developments in the future.

Aims: The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence and characteristics of adolescent young carers in France, with an identification method based on the extent of caring activities including emotional support.Design: Cross‐sectional.Methods: Between May 2018 and February 2021, 4037 adolescents (grades 10–12, mainly aged 15–17, 60.2% female) answered a self‐reported questionnaire at school. The questionnaire assessed sociodemographic characteristics, illness/disability in the family, support provided by the adolescent (Multidimensional Assessment of Caring Activities, MACA‐YC18, and a specific scale for emotional support), and quality of life (KIDSCREEN‐10).Results: Results showed that 42.5% of adolescents faced the illness/disability of a relative and 14.3% provided a high level of support and could be considered adolescent young carers. They were most commonly females caring for a parent. Adolescent young carers reported a lower quality of life than non carers. Results also highlighted differences in care and quality of life between adolescent young carers who shared the same household as their ill/disabled relative and those who did not, according to gender as well as type and perception of support provided.Conclusion: Identifying adolescent young carers is a challenge. Identification methods based on the extent of caring activities seem appropriate but not entirely satisfactory. Self‐identification criteria also seems important. An international consensus on the best identification methods and tools should be proposed. In France, the prevalence of adolescent young carers is high. These results highlight the crucial need to enhance awareness about adolescent young carers in France in order to identify and support them through appropriate health services policy.What problem did the study address?: Little is known about young carers in France and there is no prevalence study. However, it is difficult to know which methods and identification criteria to apply to assess the prevalence, because they differ between studies and have an impact on the prevalence observed in each country.What were the main findings?: The prevalence of adolescent young carers in France is high with a rate of 14.3%. Among them, 74.9% were female, 74.2% lived in the same household as their ill/disabled relative and 70.2% were aware that they provided support. Female young carers or those sharing a household with their ill/disabled relative provided higher levels of caring activities and had a lower quality of life. Adolescent young carers who were aware they provided support were less likely to have a relative with a serious/chronic physical illness but were more likely to have a relative with a mental illness, be a carer for a sibling or a grandparent and share the same household.Where and on whom will the research have impact?: These results should enhance awareness about young carers in France. Health care and education professionals have a major role to play to identify and support young carers, but public policy has to sustain it. Thus, the high prevalence rates highlight the importance of this phenomenon and the need to be attentive to this hidden population. Results also suggest an international consensus should be proposed to identify young carers.

This study investigated the effect of hypnosis on anxiety, depression, fatigue, and sleepiness in hemodialysis patients. Twenty-nine patients participated in the 15-day study. A single hypnosis session was performed on Day 8. Anxiety, depression, fatigue, and sleepiness were measured at baseline, on Day 8, and on Day 15 (HADS, MFI, ESS). Daily fatigue was also measured numerically. Anxiety, depression, and sleepiness significantly decreased after hypnosis. Weekly measures of fatigue remained stable; however, daily fatigue decreased.

This study investigated the effect of family relations on patients’ adjustment to dialysis. The two main aims were to develop a family typology, and to explore the influence of family profile on the patient's anxiety, depression and adherence to nutritional guidelines. The sample consisted of 120 patients (mean age 63 years; 67.5% of men). They completed several measures 1, 6 and 12 months after dialysis initiation. The scales used were the Family Relationship Index and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Perceived adherence to nutritional guidelines was assessed using two visual analogical scales. Results showed that family relations remained stable over time. Cluster analysis yielded three family profiles, which were named conflict, communicative and supportive families. Patients belonging to conflict families perceived themselves as less adhering to nutritional guidelines. For these patients, anxiety and depressive moods increased significantly over time, whereas mental health remained stable over time for communicative and supportive families. This research underlines that family relations are essential in global consideration of the care of patients treated by dialysis. Conflict families seem especially at risk. They should be identified early to help them adapt to this stressful treatment.