South Asian immigrants’ and their family carers’ beliefs, practices and experiences of childhood long‐term conditions: An integrative review

AIM: The aim was to examine South Asian immigrants' beliefs, practices and experiences of childhood long‐term conditions. DESIGN: This was an integrative review. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were searched for primary peer‐reviewed articles published in English between January 2011 and April 2021. REVIEW METHODS: Articles were screened based on PRISMA guidelines. The quality of the studies was evaluated using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklist for qualitative studies and the Joanna Brigg's Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for quantitative studies. RESULTS: Fourteen studies were included in the review. South Asian immigrant children and their family carers experienced cultural clashes as they attempted to incorporate their cultural beliefs about long‐term conditions into a more westernized biomedical approach. Families were overburdened by caregiving and struggled to find additional support for their children. The main findings were categorized into three themes: (1) cultural beliefs; (2) religious, spiritual and complementary and alternative medicine practices and (3) care and support of the child. CONCLUSION: Health‐care providers should use a combination of culturally safe management strategies and a nuanced approach to educational initiatives on the biomedical aspects of various long‐term conditions to effectively engage South Asian immigrant families with health services. IMPACT: The growth of South Asians worldwide along with the increased burden of long‐term conditions among South Asian immigrant children has implications for health service delivery. However, no reviews to date have explored South Asian immigrants' experience of childhood long‐term conditions. Incorporating South Asian immigrants' beliefs and practices into the plan of care promotes collaborative decision‐making that can lead to better treatment adherence, improved health outcomes and higher patient and family satisfaction. The findings encourage clinicians, researchers and policymakers to develop culturally safe child/family‐centred interventions to address the specific needs of South Asian immigrant children with long‐term conditions.