Department of Nursing, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana.
Syst Rev. 2020 Jul 23;9(1):165. doi: 10.1186/s13643-020-01408-4.
Caregivers of women with breast cancer in low-and-middle-income countries experience significant physical and economic burdens. The review aimed to map the evidence of studies that had reported on the experiences of family caregivers of women diagnosed with breast cancer.
A systematic literature search was conducted in CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science databases using a combination of key search terms and medical subject heading terms such as "family caregiver," "breast cancer," "home care," "low-and-middle-income countries," "experience," "effect," and "coping mechanism." A total of 1781 articles were retrieved and screened. Nineteen studies addressing caregiving experiences were included in the final review based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria.
The systematic review yielded 19 studies that focused on caregivers' motivation, needs of caregivers, intervention for caregivers, and consequences of caregiving. The most significant correlates of the quality of life among caregivers were disease severity, functional status of patients, and family income. The challenges encountered by caregivers were mostly psychosocial.
Caregivers play a crucial role in the management of women with breast cancer. However, they are faced with increasing challenges in their caregiving roles. Understanding the nature and extent of the burden experienced by family caregivers in developing countries will facilitate the development of appropriate interventions that can help improve caregivers' quality of life. Gaps in recent studies were identified, and suggestions for future research were also addressed in this review.
PROSPERO CRD42019118391.
在中低收入国家，乳腺癌女性患者的照顾者承受着巨大的身心压力和经济负担。本综述旨在梳理和描绘有关乳腺癌女性患者家属照顾者经历的研究证据。
采用关键词和医学主题词相结合的方式，在 CINAHL、PubMed、PsycINFO、Scopus 和 Web of Science 数据库中进行系统文献检索，检索词包括“家庭照顾者”“乳腺癌”“家庭护理”“中低收入国家”“经验”“影响”和“应对机制”等。共检索到 1781 篇文章，根据纳入和排除标准，最终有 19 项研究符合要求。
系统综述共纳入 19 项研究，内容主要涉及照顾者的动机、照顾者的需求、对照顾者的干预以及照顾的后果。影响照顾者生活质量的最重要因素是疾病严重程度、患者的功能状态和家庭收入。照顾者面临的主要挑战是心理社会问题。
照顾者在乳腺癌女性患者的管理中发挥着至关重要的作用，但他们在照顾角色中面临着越来越多的挑战。了解发展中国家家庭照顾者所承受的负担的性质和程度，将有助于制定适当的干预措施，从而提高照顾者的生活质量。本文还指出了近期研究中的空白，并提出了未来研究的建议。
PROSPERO CRD42019118391。
