Wants and needs for involvement experienced by relatives of patients with an acquired brain injury: a scoping review

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this scoping review was to identify and map the breadth of available evidence on relatives’ wants and needs for involvement in the care of patients with an acquired brain injury. Introduction: Acquired brain injuries often occur suddenly and unexpectedly. Experiencing an acquired brain injury has major consequences, not only for the patients—due to the devastating impact on their physical, cognitive, social, and psychological well-being—but also for the relatives who may need to take on a lifelong role as a carer. Research has cited some benefits of involving relatives in the care of patients, including positive effects on the patients’ health outcomes; however, there are few studies showing how relatives can be involved. Inclusion criteria: Studies that defined or assessed relatives’ wants and needs for involvement in the care of patients with an acquired brain injury in all settings were included. Studies were included if they described any kind of wants and needs for involvement experienced from the perspective of relatives. The review considered all study designs, except for literature reviews. Methods: The JBI methodology for conducting a scoping review was employed in accordance with an a priori published protocol. An extensive search was conducted in MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL (EBSCO), and Embase (Ovid). Gray literature was searched using Grey Matters and BASE. The initial search was conducted in February 2020 and updated in September 2021. This review was limited to studies published in English, German, or Scandinavian languages since January 2010. The data were extracted using a data extraction tool (authors, year of publication, country of origin, setting, study methods, and findings related to wants and needs for involvement) created by the authors. The review findings are reported as a descriptive summary, with tables and figures supporting the data. Results: The search identified 3854 studies, 31 of which were included. The studies were published between 2010 and 2021, and were conducted across 9 countries. In total, 16 studies applied a qualitative study design, 4 studies used a descriptive approach, 4 studies used a quantitative research design, 4 studies reported using a mixed methods design, and 3 studies employed a multi-methods design. The studies were conducted across a variety of settings, ranging from acute care to home. The international literature on the involvement of relatives of patients with acquired brain injuries comprises multiple published studies on different aspects of the topic and within various care contexts. The findings identified few studies describing wants and needs experienced by relatives in relation to involvement in the patient’s disease trajectory. Conclusions: The findings show that relatives’ wants and needs are primarily related to information and communication, but are also related to collaboration with health care professionals. The findings illustrate that the complexity of involvement is comprehensive, with multiple aspects...

Wants and needs for involvement reported by relatives of patients with a malignant brain tumor: a scoping review

“…Patients with an MBT face a poor prognosis with an average life expectancy of about 14 months, 34 and the relatives may be more concerned about life expectancy and illness progression. Therefore, we decided to deviate from the protocol and divide the findings into 2 scoping reviews 31 …”

“…To be eligible for inclusion, studies must have referred to the wants and needs of relatives involved in the care of patients with an MBT. The wants and needs for involvement were identified in relation to participating in decision-making concerning treatments, sharing information and knowledge, setting goals, planning the patient’s discharge, and being actively involved in nursing care and exercises, among others 31 …”

Interventions facilitating the involvement of relatives of patients with acquired brain injury or malignant brain tumour through the course of disease: a scoping review protocol

“…Little has been explored about relatives’ needs for involvement in the disease trajectory of patients with ABI or MBT. However, a scoping review has illuminated the need for relatives of patients with ABI to be primarily related to information, communication and support from HCPs, which is important not only in being able to understand the situation, but also to be involved in care and decision-making 10. On the contrary, a scoping review reporting on the wants and needs for involvement of relatives to patients with an MBT identified that relatives were already involved in the disease trajectory but expressed a need for a stronger connection with HCPs because their relatives’ needs changed rapidly as the disease progressed.…”

“…If HCPs are able to identify and ultimately meet relatives’ wants and needs for involvement, this might improve their coping, patient satisfaction and high-quality nursing care. HCPs may be able to increase the capacity of relatives in their new role as caregivers if they can identify and use relatives’ wants and needs for involvement in collaboration with their relatives 10…”

Abstracts for a wider audience: promoting linguistic diversity in JBI Evidence Synthesis

“…In this issue of JBI Evidence Synthesis , we present 2 reviews featuring a translation of the review abstract. “Wants and needs for involvement experienced by relatives of patients with an acquired brain injury: a scoping review” 13 features German and Danish translations, and “Incidence of severe infection in patients with rheumatoid arthritis taking biologic agents: a systematic review” 14 includes a Japanese translation. Both of these abstracts have been translated by members of the author team and are available as supplemental digital content.…”