Pierce Maria, Darley Andrew, Lafferty Attracta
Applied Social Studies, Maynooth University, Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland.
University College Dublin School of Nursing Midwifery and Health Systems, Dublin, Leinster, Ireland.
HRB Open Res. 2025 Jan 23;8:9. doi: 10.12688/hrbopenres.14047.1. eCollection 2025.
Student carers in higher education institutions (HEIs) is an emerging policy issue in many countries. Researchers have sought to synthesise the literature on student carers in HEIs. Runacres (2024) conducted a scoping review, which included 14 studies, and Knopf (2022) conducted a systematic review of university students who are caring for an older adult, which included six studies. These reviews identified some key themes discussed in the literature. However, there are further areas of discussion that have yet to be explored in the evidence to date. This observation is in the context of a growing body of international literature published on the topic and the greater visibility of family carers post-pandemic. One key area yet to be examined is the policy and practice responses to student carers in HEIs in different countries. The scope of this review will be broader than previous reviews with a specific focus on policy and practice responses regarding this population. This scoping review will: examine definitional issues concerning student carers in HEIs; summarise studies from different countries that provide estimates of the number of student carers in HEIs; identify theoretical perspectives and concepts underpinning research on this topic; and assess the available evidence on the value and outcomes of supports. The 5-stage methodological framework developed by Arksey and O'Malley (2005) will be used to guide this scoping review, as described in detail in this protocol. The findings of the scoping review will be used to inform the enhancement of supports for student carers in HEIs. A range of vehicles will be used to disseminate the findings, including conference presentations, publication in an international peer-reviewed journal, and preparation of a policy brief to disseminate the findings of this scoping review to policymakers and other relevant stakeholders.
高等教育机构中的学生护理者是许多国家一个新出现的政策问题。研究人员试图综合有关高等教育机构中学生护理者的文献。鲁纳克雷斯（2024年）进行了一项范围综述，其中包括14项研究，克诺夫（2022年）对照顾老年人的大学生进行了一项系统综述，其中包括6项研究。这些综述确定了文献中讨论的一些关键主题。然而，在迄今为止的证据中，还有一些有待探索的进一步讨论领域。这一观察是在关于该主题的国际文献日益增多以及疫情后家庭护理者更加受到关注的背景下进行的。一个尚未研究的关键领域是不同国家高等教育机构对学生护理者的政策和实践回应。本次综述的范围将比以前的综述更广泛，特别关注针对这一人群的政策和实践回应。本次范围综述将：研究高等教育机构中关于学生护理者的定义问题；总结不同国家提供高等教育机构中学生护理者数量估计的研究；确定该主题研究的理论视角和概念；并评估关于支持的价值和成果的现有证据。将使用阿克西和奥马利（2005年）开发的五阶段方法框架来指导本次范围综述，本方案中有详细描述。范围综述的结果将用于为加强对高等教育机构中学生护理者的支持提供信息。将使用一系列途径来传播研究结果，包括会议报告、在国际同行评审期刊上发表，以及编写政策简报，将本次范围综述的结果传播给政策制定者和其他相关利益攸关方。
