Caregivers' experiences of contributing to patients' self-care in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A thematic synthesis of qualitative studies.
Maria Matarese, Roberta Pendoni, Michela Piredda and 1 others
PMID 34245173WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers of COPD patients actively manage medications, monitor night-time symptoms and advocate during exacerbations.
Nurses should assess these existing practices and include caregivers in education, rather than assuming patients self-manage alone.
Key findings
01Caregivers perform complex medication management, including preparing doses to prevent errors and waking patients to administer them.
02During acute exacerbations, caregivers monitor physical and emotional symptoms, often at night, and make decisions about when to seek emergency help.
03Caregivers frequently learn these skills through trial and error or self-study, with little formal support from healthcare providers.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The synthesis relies on the interpretations and quotes published in the original studies, which may not fully represent the raw data. Only studies in English were included, potentially limiting cultural transferability. Most participants were caregivers of patients with severe or advanced COPD, so findings may not apply to early-stage disease. The review could not determine differences in experiences based on caregiver age, sex, or relationship to the patient due to limited reporting in primary studies.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that caregivers' contributions are formally taught or supported by the healthcare system. The review found that caregivers primarily learn through self-study and trial and error, with little guidance from professionals.