Aims: To systematically identify, evaluate and synthesize the available qualitative evidence on the mealtime care experiences of informal caregivers of people with dementia.
Design: A qualitative evidence synthesis using the Thomas and Harden method.
Data sources: All qualitative and mixed-method studies in English and Chinese were retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane, CINAHL, CNKI, WanFang, and Vip from the inception of each database until November 2019.
Review methods: Two researchers independently selected the studies using qualitative assessment and review instruments for quality evaluation and thematic synthesis for the data analysis.
Results: Ten studies were chosen for this review. The analytical themes identified included injecting a new element, moving forward in the challenge and external supports facilitating better coping.
Conclusion: Community nurses should effectively use resources to provide food-related information and services to families with dementia. Future research should combine informal caregiver experiences and clinical skills to develop high-quality interventions to improve the quality of mealtimes.
Impact: The findings established that informal caregivers experienced not only changes in their roles and concerns but also emotional changes. Informal caregivers develop different coping strategies to adapt to feeding issues without professional support. Although informal caregivers attach great importance to mealtimes and nutrition issues, they experience a lack of information and support services. Community nurses can provide more economical, practical, and accessible information resources based on informal caregivers' perceptions of mealtime care. Future interventions need to be more aware of the importance of dyad or family-centred support services.
目的: 为了系统地识别、评估和汇总关于老年痴呆症患者非正式护理者的现有餐时护理经验的定性证据。 设计: 采用Thomas和Harden方法进行定性证据综合。 数据来源: 自各数据库成立至2019年11月,在PubMed、Web of Science、Embase、Cochrane、CINAHL、CNKI、WanFang和Vip上检索到所有中英文版本的定性和混合法研究信息。 审查方法: 两名研究人员独立选择研究,采用定性评估和审阅工具进行质量评价以及数据分析专题综合。 结果: 这项审查选择了10项研究。所确定的分析主题包括注入新元素,推动挑战和外部支持,以便更好应对。 结论: 社区护士应有效利用资源,为痴呆症家庭提供食物相关信息和服务。今后的研究应将非正式的护理者经验和临床技能结合起来,制定高质量的干预措施,以提高进餐时间质量。 影响: 调查结果表明,非正式护理者不仅经历了角色和关注点的变化,而且经历了情感上的变化。非正式护理者制定了不同的应对策略,以应对无专业支持的喂食问题。虽然非正式护理者非常重视进餐时间和营养问题,但他们缺乏信息和支持服务。社区护士可以根据非正式护理者对进餐时间护理的认知,提供更多经济实用且便捷的信息资源。今后的干预措施需要更多地意识到双人组合或以家庭为中心的支持服务的重要性。.
Keywords: aged; caregivers; dementia; meals; nursing; qualitative research; thematic synthesis.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.