What skills do informal caregivers of people dependent on activities of daily living improve caregivers’ quality of life? Protocol for a systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54103/2282-0930/29812Keywords:
Informal caregiver, caregiver training, quality of life, ADL, protocol, systematic review, caregiving skills, skill mix, primary care, public healthAbstract
Background: The increasing aging population [1] has increased the demand for caregiving in daily living activities (ADLs), positioning informal caregivers as key figures in care models [2,3,4]. Objective: This protocol outlines a systematic review, which is grounded in Smith’s Caregiving Effectiveness Model [5], designed to identify and categorize the skills transferred through educational interventions by healthcare professionals that improve informal caregivers’ quality of life (QoL). Study Design: Systematic review protocol following PRISMA-P guidelines [6]. Methods: We will search six databases (PubMed, CENTRAL, Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and CINAHL) for randomized controlled trials, cluster-RCTs, and quasi-experimental studies involving skill-improvement interventions aimed at informal caregivers of individuals dependent on ADLs. Outcomes of interest include caregiver QoL, burden, anxiety, stress, self-efficacy, and depression. Risk of bias will be assessed via RoB 2 and ROBINS-I tools [7,8]. Data will be synthesized narratively according to the domains in Smith’s Caregiving Effectiveness Model [5]. Registration: PROSPERO CRD42024607229
Keywords: Informal caregiver, caregiver training, quality of life, ADL, protocol, systematic review, caregiving skills, skill mix, primary care, public health
Downloads
References
World Health Organization. World Health Statistics Overview 2019: Monitoring Health for the SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals. Geneva, Swiderland: World Health Organization; 2019.
Barbabella F, Poli A, Andréasson F, et al. A Web-Based Psychosocial Intervention for Family Caregivers of Older People: Results from a Mixed- Methods Study in Three European Countries. JMIR Res Protoc. 2016;5(4):e196. Published 2016 Oct 6. doi:10.2196/resprot.5847
Hoffmann F, Rodrigues R. Informal Carers: Who Takes Care of Them? [Policy Brief]. Vienna, Austria: European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research; April 2010.
World Health Organization. The World Health Report 2008: Primary Health Care – Now More Than Ever. Geneva, Swiderland: World Health Organization; 2008. Accessed April 28, 2025. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241563734
Smith CE, Pace K, Kochinda C, Kleinbeck SV, Koehler J, Popkess-Vawter S. Caregiving Effectiveness Model evolution to a midrange theory of home care: a process for critique and replication. ANS Adv Nurs Sci. 2002;25(1):50-64. doi:10.1097/00012272-200209000-00007
Moher D, Shamseer L, Clarke M, et al. Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 statement. Syst Rev. 2015;4(1):1. Published 2015 Jan 1. doi:10.1186/2046-4053-4-1
Sterne JAC, Savović J, Page MJ, et al. RoB 2: a revised tool for assessing risk of bias in randomised trials. BMJ. 2019;366:l4898. Published 2019 Aug 28. doi:10.1136/bmj.l4898
Sterne JA, Hernán MA, Reeves BC, et al. ROBINS-I: a tool for assessing risk of bias in non-randomised studies of interventions. BMJ. 2016;355:i4919. Published 2016 Oct 12. doi:10.1136/bmj.i4919
Machielse A, van der Vaart W, Laceulle H, Klaassens J. Optimising Caregiving Competences and Skills of Professional, Volunteer and Informal Caregivers: European Research Report 2. Vienna, Austria: SEE ME Project; December 2022.
Nolan A, Aaltonen K, Danielsbacka M. The Effect of Informal Caregiving on Depression: An Asymmetric Panel Fixed-Effects Analysis of In-Home and Out- Of- Home Caregivers Across Europe. J Aging Soc Policy. Published online May 5, 2024. doi:10.1080/08959420.2024.2348968
Oxford University Press. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 10th ed. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press; 2020.
Chan CY, De Roza JG, Ding GTY, Koh HL, Lee ES. Psychosocial factors and caregiver burden among primary family caregivers of frail older adults with multimorbidity. BMC Prim Care. 2023;24(1):36. Published 2023 Jan 30. doi:10.1186/s12875-023-01985-y
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Daniele Garavelloni, Maria Luisa Rega, Maria Lucia Specchia

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.


