Abstract
Objective
The burden on caregivers of patients with eye disease is exacerbated by competing
priorities and their own advancing age. The objective of this paper is to identify
and characterize the burden of caregiving for patients with eye diseases.
Design
Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Methods
A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted accessing the main databases
up to March 25, 2021: Medline (Ovid), Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO,
and PubMed. Studies included referred to the burden experienced by caregivers of adults
with any eye disease. Review studies, editorials, commentaries, opinion studies, and
single case reports were excluded as well as studies that described only the quality
of life and (or) burdens of the care recipient. Two independent reviewers carried
2-level screening. Risk of bias assessment was determined according to the Modified
Downs and Black Checklist. Demographic data and measures of burden were extracted
and tabulated.
Results
In total, 2421 articles were identified after duplicate removal; 17 progressed to
data extraction after full-text screening, and 7 were included in the meta-analysis.
Overall, caregiving was associated with significant burden (65%; 95% CI, 12%–17%).
Meta-analysis indicated significant severe burden (24%; 95% CI, 3%–45%), moderate
burden (18%; 95% CI, 9%–28%), and mild burden (34%; 95% CI, 7%–61%) on caregivers
of visually impaired patients.
Conclusions
Awareness of the psychosocial impact and risk of severe burden experienced by caregivers
of eye disease patients is required to aid health care providers to develop proactive
interventions for both providers and recipients of care.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: April 28, 2022
Accepted:
April 4,
2022
Received in revised form:
February 24,
2022
Received:
June 14,
2021
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
