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The Experiences of Informal Carers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Systematic Review

Objectives: To identify, critically appraise and synthesise the qualitative literature on the experiences of informal carers of people with long-term conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: A qualitative systematic literature review. Data Sources: Eight electronic databases were systematica...

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Autores principales: Bailey, Cara, Guo, Ping, MacArtney, John, Finucane, Anne, Swan, Susan, Meade, Richard, Wagstaff, Ellie
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9603569/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36294030
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013455
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author Bailey, Cara
Guo, Ping
MacArtney, John
Finucane, Anne
Swan, Susan
Meade, Richard
Wagstaff, Ellie
author_facet Bailey, Cara
Guo, Ping
MacArtney, John
Finucane, Anne
Swan, Susan
Meade, Richard
Wagstaff, Ellie
author_sort Bailey, Cara
collection PubMed
description Objectives: To identify, critically appraise and synthesise the qualitative literature on the experiences of informal carers of people with long-term conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: A qualitative systematic literature review. Data Sources: Eight electronic databases were systematically searched (Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, Nursing and Allied Health and ASSIA) along with Google Scholar and handsearching via secondary sources. Study selection: Eligible studies had to include the experiences of informal carers (adults who are 65 or older), use a qualitative methodology and had to be written in English. Data extraction and synthesis: Retrieved papers were quality assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme qualitative checklist and ranked for quality. Thematic analysis was used to synthesise the findings. Results: Fourteen studies were included, all from medical or nursing journals (n = 5 specifically gerontology). Four main themes were identified: (i) fear, (ii) uncertainty, (iii) burden and (iv) staying connected. Caregiving demands have increased for carers during the pandemic, as well as negative emotions such as fear and uncertainty. At the same time, less social support has been available, leading to concerns about carers’ wellbeing and ability to cope. Conclusion: Carers’ needs have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Greater practical and emotional support is needed for carers from both formal services and community sources that considers their changing needs and offers educational and emotional support for long-term wellbeing. Strengths and Limitations: (1) This is the first systematic review to explore in depth the experiences of informal carers caring for people with a range of long-term conditions and from an international context. (2) The review includes an analysis of the quality of the studies, as well as a study of their relative contributions. (3) Further research is needed to explore the physical, emotional and financial impact of the pandemic for bereaved carers which is not captured in this review due to the lack of empirical data available at the time of review.
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spelling pubmed-96035692022-10-27 The Experiences of Informal Carers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Systematic Review Bailey, Cara Guo, Ping MacArtney, John Finucane, Anne Swan, Susan Meade, Richard Wagstaff, Ellie Int J Environ Res Public Health Review Objectives: To identify, critically appraise and synthesise the qualitative literature on the experiences of informal carers of people with long-term conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: A qualitative systematic literature review. Data Sources: Eight electronic databases were systematically searched (Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, Nursing and Allied Health and ASSIA) along with Google Scholar and handsearching via secondary sources. Study selection: Eligible studies had to include the experiences of informal carers (adults who are 65 or older), use a qualitative methodology and had to be written in English. Data extraction and synthesis: Retrieved papers were quality assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme qualitative checklist and ranked for quality. Thematic analysis was used to synthesise the findings. Results: Fourteen studies were included, all from medical or nursing journals (n = 5 specifically gerontology). Four main themes were identified: (i) fear, (ii) uncertainty, (iii) burden and (iv) staying connected. Caregiving demands have increased for carers during the pandemic, as well as negative emotions such as fear and uncertainty. At the same time, less social support has been available, leading to concerns about carers’ wellbeing and ability to cope. Conclusion: Carers’ needs have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Greater practical and emotional support is needed for carers from both formal services and community sources that considers their changing needs and offers educational and emotional support for long-term wellbeing. Strengths and Limitations: (1) This is the first systematic review to explore in depth the experiences of informal carers caring for people with a range of long-term conditions and from an international context. (2) The review includes an analysis of the quality of the studies, as well as a study of their relative contributions. (3) Further research is needed to explore the physical, emotional and financial impact of the pandemic for bereaved carers which is not captured in this review due to the lack of empirical data available at the time of review. MDPI 2022-10-18 /pmc/articles/PMC9603569/ /pubmed/36294030 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013455 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Bailey, Cara
Guo, Ping
MacArtney, John
Finucane, Anne
Swan, Susan
Meade, Richard
Wagstaff, Ellie
The Experiences of Informal Carers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Systematic Review
title The Experiences of Informal Carers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Systematic Review
title_full The Experiences of Informal Carers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Systematic Review
title_fullStr The Experiences of Informal Carers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Systematic Review
title_full_unstemmed The Experiences of Informal Carers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Systematic Review
title_short The Experiences of Informal Carers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Systematic Review
title_sort experiences of informal carers during the covid-19 pandemic: a qualitative systematic review
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9603569/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36294030
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013455
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