Informal Care in Asian and Afro/Caribbean Communities: A Literature Review

Correspondence to Karl Atkin, Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, Heslington, York YO1 5DD. Summary The multi-racial nature of British society can no longer beignored by those responsible for planning and implementing socialcare policy, particularly since community care is presentlyat a crossroads. Informal care provides a useful starting pointfrom which to introduce the notion of race into social caredebates. The paper, by reviewing a mix of empirical studiesand policy debates emerging from the literature on informalcare and black communities, examines the experience of informalcare within black communities. By discussing topics such asthe demography of care, the nature of informal care, and serviceprovision to black carers, it gives coherence to a fragmentedliterature and illustrates gaps in present understanding.     

Television News and Political Socialization

Elementary school children frequently watch child-oriented newssegments on Saturday morning television, and occasionally viewnetwork newscasts. News viewing is mildly associated with bothpolitical knowledge and public affairs interest for older children,but younger viewers learn little. Parent-child discussion ofnews is also related to newscast exposure.     

Ethnicity and Caring for a Disabled Child: The Case of Children with Sickle Cell or Thalassaemia

Correspondence to Waqar Ahmad or Karl Atkin, Ethnicity and Social Policy Research Unit, University of Bradford, Bradford, BD7 1DP, UK Summary Services for haemoglobinopathies have been a major site of strugglesfor the black communities, yet the social research literatureon haemoglobinopathies remains patchy and fragmented. We providean overview of the literature on sickle cell disorders and thalassaemiamajor in the broader context of debates on childhood disabilityand chronic illness, and on ethnicity, racism and health care.