Informal caregivers' quality of life and management strategies following the transformation of their cancer caregiving role: A qualitative systematic review.
Yingying Cai, Alison Simons, Samantha Toland and 2 others
PMID 33997139WHAT IT FOUND
Informal caregivers described losing sleep, income and social life while hiding their own needs, and they wanted short, practical training plus support that fits their caregiving hours.
Key findings
01Across 103 caregivers, the synthesis grouped experiences into challenges of caregiving, self-adjustment, and seeking formal and informal support.
02Caregivers reported losing sleep, financial strain, reduced work or abandoned jobs, and hiding their own needs because they saw supporting the patient as their duty.
03Most caregivers wanted professional help but said they did not know what services existed, could not understand medical terms, and wanted more caregiving knowledge and skills.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only six qualitative studies with 103 caregivers were included, so the themes may not capture all caregiver experiences. The caregivers were mostly women: 77 female and 26 male, so male caregiver experiences may be underrepresented. Some included studies did not clearly explain why qualitative methods were used, how data analysis was done, or how researcher bias was managed. Only English and Chinese studies were included, so relevant studies in other languages were missing. This is a qualitative review of experiences and needs; it does not test whether any support strategy improves caregiver quality of life.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that training or support improved caregivers' quality of life. This review only describes what caregivers experienced and said they wanted; it did not test interventions.