Qualitative studies add significantly to our understanding of carers' experiences. Caring for stroke survivors is often challenging but focusing on the difficulties and not drawing attention to successful management strategies and satisfaction reported by carers, limits understanding and reduces the chances of providing appropriate support. Future qualitative research should consider the implications of the timing of collection more carefully and should move away from simple content or thematic analysis which tends to emphasize similarities amongst carers and should now focus on understanding carer diversity. Acknowledging this diversity should maximize the chances of providing appropriate support.

We developed a questionnaire for the evaluation of patient satisfaction with telemedicine. Items related to patient satisfaction with telemedicine were identified through a review of the literature. The internal consistency and the intraclass correlation coefficient were used to evaluate the reliability of the proposed instrument. Content validity was examined using a panel of experts. The predictive validity of the proposed instrument was assessed by correlating scores on the Telemedicine Satisfaction Questionnaire (TSQ) with haemoglobin A(1c) levels and adherence to self-management activities among 38 patients with type 2 diabetes, after they had completed a four-session interactive diabetes tele-education programme. A principal-components analysis with varimax rotation was performed to reduce the number of questionnaire items from 15 to 14, and the scree test was used to select significant factors. There were three components with eigenvalues over 1.0, which together explained 68% of the total variance. These were: quality of care provided, similarity to face-to-face encounter and perception of the interaction. The TSQ demonstrated preliminary reliability and validity but more extensive testing will be required before it can be considered generally applicable.

It is concluded that, while understanding of older people's pre and postplacement experiences was abundant, there was a dearth of literature on the actual experiences involved as older people made their day to day adjustment after placement. There is a need for future research to identify the dynamic processes of how older people come to terms with residential living. Future research should also focus on developing an accurate understanding of the adjustment experiences of elders with different ethnic background.

Despite improvements in study design over the last two decades, atheoretical studies employing overlapping concepts and poorly defined participants still dominate. Future studies should have theoretical underpinning and should acknowledge the diversity of carers, survivors and their situations. In addition, future emphasis on positive carer outcomes may improve understanding of protective carer factors.

Chinese mothers' experiences of parenting a child with Down syndrome were explored through semistructured interviews with 18 key informants selected by purposive sampling. Seven major themes were identified: unexpected birth of an abnormal child, acceptance of the child, special needs of the child, worry about the future, knowledge deficit, effect on the marital relationship, and social restrictions. The types of stressors changed over time according to the child's age, and coping strategies varied accordingly. Strategies frequently used were avoidance, self-reliance, and seeking social support. The particular problems faced by mothers of children with Down syndrome in Hong Kong were discussed in view of the sociocultural background of the region and the highly competitive nature of its society.