Is the Active Involvement of Family Caregivers in Adult Hospital Care Effective to Improve Patient Outcomes? A Systematic Review.
Daphne Bloemberg, Mark L van Zuylen, Selma C W Musters and 6 others
PMID 40755169WHAT IT FOUND
Active family caregiver involvement in adult hospital care shows mixed results.
It may reduce readmissions and length of stay in some studies, but showed no significant benefit on mortality, complications, or most quality of life measures across the reviewed trials.
Key findings
01Readmission rates were significantly reduced in two of seven studies reporting this outcome, while other studies found no significant difference.
02Length of hospital stay was significantly shorter in two of six studies, with one reporting a mean difference of 12.4 days less in the intervention group.
03No significant differences were found between groups for mortality rates or complication rates (such as delirium, falls, or pneumonia) in any of the included studies.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The studies varied widely in their interventions, comparators, and outcome measures, making meta-analysis inappropriate and forcing a descriptive synthesis. Blinding of patients, family caregivers, and healthcare professionals was impossible due to the nature of the intervention, which may have influenced subjective outcomes like satisfaction and quality of life. Several included studies were pilot or feasibility trials, which may overestimate treatment effects. Methodological quality varied, with some studies rated as having a high risk of bias. Compliance with the interventions was not always high; one major study reported only 44% compliance, which may have diluted the observed effects.
Declared interests
The paper states it is a Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't publication type. No specific funding body or author conflicts of interest are declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that simply allowing family presence or providing them with information is equivalent to the active caregiver involvement tested in these studies. The interventions required specific training and active participation in care tasks, and the evidence for benefit is inconsistent across outcomes.