TY - JOUR

T1 - Why do they care? A qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis of personal and relational motivations for providing informal care

AU - Zarzycki, Mikołaj

AU - Seddon, Diane

AU - Bei, Eva

AU - Morrison, Valerie

PY - 2023/7

Y1 - 2023/7

N2 - Informal caregiving is crucial to the sustainability of health and social care systems globally. With ageing populations and a rising prevalence of acute and chronic health conditions, the need for informal care is growing, making it important to understand what motivates individuals to care and to continue caring. This paper reports findings of a systematic review which examined determinants of motivations and willingness to provide informal care. A systematic search was conducted using six electronic databases and a wide range of additional sources. 105 qualitative studies published before August 2019 were included with 103 of them reporting on personal and relational motivations, and the contextual factors underpinning these. Grounded theory-based, thematic synthesis was applied to synthesise the literature. This meta-synthesis reports on findings from across the world spanning three decades, with data from over 2500 caregivers across a range of health conditions. This paper presents the relational, personal and contextual themes. It highlights the significance of reciprocity, affection, family values and caregiving obligations. Personal characteristics, finding meaning, illness perceptions, situational and temporal aspects of caregiving are also identified as important in shaping motivations and willingness to care and to continue caring. Implications for theory, research, policy and practice are discussed.

AB - Informal caregiving is crucial to the sustainability of health and social care systems globally. With ageing populations and a rising prevalence of acute and chronic health conditions, the need for informal care is growing, making it important to understand what motivates individuals to care and to continue caring. This paper reports findings of a systematic review which examined determinants of motivations and willingness to provide informal care. A systematic search was conducted using six electronic databases and a wide range of additional sources. 105 qualitative studies published before August 2019 were included with 103 of them reporting on personal and relational motivations, and the contextual factors underpinning these. Grounded theory-based, thematic synthesis was applied to synthesise the literature. This meta-synthesis reports on findings from across the world spanning three decades, with data from over 2500 caregivers across a range of health conditions. This paper presents the relational, personal and contextual themes. It highlights the significance of reciprocity, affection, family values and caregiving obligations. Personal characteristics, finding meaning, illness perceptions, situational and temporal aspects of caregiving are also identified as important in shaping motivations and willingness to care and to continue caring. Implications for theory, research, policy and practice are discussed.

KW - informal caregiving

KW - motivations and willingness to provide care

KW - personal characteristics

KW - illness perceptions

KW - relationship quality

KW - reciprocity

U2 - 10.1080/17437199.2022.2058581

DO - 10.1080/17437199.2022.2058581

M3 - Article

VL - 17

SP - 344

EP - 376

JO - Health Psychology Review

JF - Health Psychology Review

SN - 1743-7199

IS - 3

ER -