CARE BURDEN IN INFORMAL CAREGIVERS OF HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS STUDY

BACKGROUND: Correct assessment of care burden in informal care providers to hemodialysis patients such as family members has a crucial role in promoting their physical and mental health. This study was conducted to determine care burden in informal caregivers of hemodialysis patients. METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed based on the systematic review meta-analysis and reporting system. To access relevant studies in the field, databases of Medline via PubMed, SCOPUS, ProQuest, SID, Embase and Magiran databases were searched with keywords assigned and using AND & OR operators until 1st August 2019. After eliminating duplicates and primary and secondary screening of the articles, finally 8 studies entered the meta-analysis process. Cochran test and I2 index were used to determine the heterogeneity of the studies. Random Effects Model was used to estimate pooled mean. Egger's tests were used to evaluate diffusion bias. RESULTS: The level of care burden in informal caregivers of hemodialysis patients varied from 1.7 to 54.01 in 8 studies with a sample size of 651. Most caregivers were spouses of patients and their mean age ranged from 32 to 51 years. Based on the cumulative graph, the mean total effect for care burden index in caregivers of hemodialysis patients in the studies was estimated to be 8.918 (14.3-454.381) with 95% confidence interval based on random effect model. CONCLUSION: Considering the care burden in caregivers of hemodialysis patients and its adverse effects, it is recommended to pay more attention to the health of caregivers as hidden patients and appropriate strategies should be considered to improve their quality of life.