The impact of caring for family members with mental illnesses on the caregiver: a scoping review.

Phillips, Rita; Durkin, Mark; Engward, Hilary; Cable, Graham; Iancu, Maria

Abstract

A large amount of multidisciplinary, qualitative and quantitative research suggests that providing care for family members with mental health illnesses can have both positive and negative effects on the carers' wellbeing. However, to date a comprehensive overview and synthesis of literature that compares and contrasts positive and negative effects of family-caregiving on the carer is missing. To address this gap, this scoping review examines the effects of family-caregiving on carers' wellbeing. A Boolean search generated a total of 92 relevant articles that were included in the analysis. The results suggest that, to understand the effects of family-caregiving on the carer's mental and physical wellbeing, it is necessary to take a combination of situational and sociodemographic characteristics into consideration. Elderly, female, spousal-carers and primary-carers may be a group that is at risk of suffering from a lack of positive mental and physical wellbeing as a result of caring. However, the negative effects of caregiving can be balanced by extraversion, social support, and religious or spiritual beliefs. Therefore, future interventions that aim to promote family caregivers' wellbeing may need to take personality, particular circumstances, and cultural and personal beliefs into consideration.

Citation

PHILLIPS, R., DURKIN, M., ENGWARD, H., CABLE, G. and IANCU, M. 2023. The impact of caring for family members with mental illnesses on the caregiver: a scoping review. Health promotion international [online], 38(3), daac049. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daac049

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 26, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Apr 26, 2022
• Publication Date: Jun 30, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jun 14, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 6, 2022
• Journal: Health promotion international
• Print ISSN: 0957-4824
• Electronic ISSN: 1460-2245
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 38
• Issue: 3
• Article Number: daac049
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daac049
• Keywords: Family carers; Family caregiving; Carers; Caregiving; Mental health; Wellbeing; Patients with mental illness
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1650057