Docherty, Andrea, Owens, Alastair, Asadi-Lari, Mohsen, Petchey, Roland, Williams, Jacky and Carter, Yvonne H. (2008) Knowledge and information needs of informal caregivers in palliative care: a qualitative systematic review. Palliative Medicine, Vol.22 (No.2). pp. 153-171. ISSN 0269-2163

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Abstract

Objectives: To review current understanding of the knowledge and information needs of informal caregivers in palliative settings. Data sources: Seven electronic databases were searched for the period January 1994-November 2006: Medline, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Embase, Ovid, Zetoc and Pubmed using a meta-search engine (Metalib (R)). Key journals and reference lists of selected papers were hand searched. Review methods: Included studies were peer-reviewed journal articles presenting original research. Given a variety of approaches to palliative care research, a validated systematic review methodology for assessing disparate evidence was used in order to assign scores to different aspects of each study (introduction and aims, method and data, sampling, data analysis, ethics and bias, findings/results, transferability/generalizability, implications and usefulness). Analysis was assisted by abstraction of the key details of each study into a table. Results: Thirty-four studies were included from eight different countries. The evidence was strongest in relation to pain management, where inadequacies in caregiver knowledge and the importance of education were emphasized. The significance of effective communication and information sharing between patient, caregiver and service provider was also emphasized. The evidence for other caregiver knowledge and information needs, for example in relation to welfare and social support, was weaker. There was limited literature on non-cancer conditions and the caregiving information needs of black and minority ethnic populations. Overall, the evidence base was predominantly descriptive and dominated by small-scale studies, limiting generalizability. Conclusions: As palliative care shifts into patients' homes, a more rigorously researched evidence base devoted to understanding caregivers knowledge and information needs is required. Research design needs to move beyond the current focus on dyads to incorporate the complex, three-way interactions between patients, service providers and caregivers in end-of-life care settings.

Item Type:	Journal Item
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine R Medicine
Divisions:	Faculty of Medicine > Warwick Medical School
Journal or Publication Title:	Palliative Medicine
Publisher:	Sage Publications Ltd.
ISSN:	0269-2163
Date:	March 2008
Volume:	Vol.22
Number:	No.2
Number of Pages:	19
Page Range:	pp. 153-171
Identification Number:	10.1177/0269216307085343
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/30148

Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge

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