TY - JOUR

T1 - Motivations and willingness to provide care from a geographical distance, and the impact of distance care on caregivers’ mental and physical health: a mixed-method systematic review protocol

AU - Bei, Eva

AU - Zarzycki, Mikolaj

AU - Morrison, Valerie

AU - Vilchinsky, Noa

N1 - © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.

PY - 2021/7/7

Y1 - 2021/7/7

N2 - Introduction Distance caregivers (DCGs) are a growingpopulation with substantial contribution to informal care.While a reasonable amount is known on the determinantsof motives and willingness to provide local informal care,and the local caregiver outcomes, reports for the distancecaregiving population are lacking. An evidence synthesisof what motivates and makes DCGs willing to care from adistance and the impact of that care on their mental andphysical health would highlight any gaps or consensus inknowledge. This would guide the research needed towardsthe development of tailored interventions, in order tosupport DCGs and promote the sustainability of distancecare.Methods and analysis This protocol adheres to PreferredItems for Reporting of Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses Protocols guidelines and the Joanna BriggsInstitute (JBI) Methodology for mixed-method reviews.A comprehensive search strategy will be conducted infour electronic databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMedand PsycINFO). Grey literature will also be assessed tominimise publication bias. Two independent reviewers willassess each study for inclusion and any discrepancieswill be resolved with the consultation of a third reviewer.Eligible studies for inclusion will be English languagestudies exploring the motives and willingness to carefor a care recipient with a chronic disease, disability orfrailty from a geographical distance; or studies focusingon the mental and physical health outcomes of DCGs.Qualitative and quantitative data will be integrated in asingle qualitative synthesis following the JBI convergentintegrated approach. Study quality will be assessed usingthe Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool version 2018.Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is notrequired for this study as no primary data will be collected.Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewedpublication and presentations at academic conferencesand lay summaries for various stakeholders.PROSPERO registration number CRD42020156350.

AB - Introduction Distance caregivers (DCGs) are a growingpopulation with substantial contribution to informal care.While a reasonable amount is known on the determinantsof motives and willingness to provide local informal care,and the local caregiver outcomes, reports for the distancecaregiving population are lacking. An evidence synthesisof what motivates and makes DCGs willing to care from adistance and the impact of that care on their mental andphysical health would highlight any gaps or consensus inknowledge. This would guide the research needed towardsthe development of tailored interventions, in order tosupport DCGs and promote the sustainability of distancecare.Methods and analysis This protocol adheres to PreferredItems for Reporting of Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses Protocols guidelines and the Joanna BriggsInstitute (JBI) Methodology for mixed-method reviews.A comprehensive search strategy will be conducted infour electronic databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMedand PsycINFO). Grey literature will also be assessed tominimise publication bias. Two independent reviewers willassess each study for inclusion and any discrepancieswill be resolved with the consultation of a third reviewer.Eligible studies for inclusion will be English languagestudies exploring the motives and willingness to carefor a care recipient with a chronic disease, disability orfrailty from a geographical distance; or studies focusingon the mental and physical health outcomes of DCGs.Qualitative and quantitative data will be integrated in asingle qualitative synthesis following the JBI convergentintegrated approach. Study quality will be assessed usingthe Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool version 2018.Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is notrequired for this study as no primary data will be collected.Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewedpublication and presentations at academic conferencesand lay summaries for various stakeholders.PROSPERO registration number CRD42020156350.

KW - anxiety disorders

KW - depression & mood disorders

KW - mental health

KW - primary care

U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045660

DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045660

M3 - Article

C2 - 34233972

VL - 11

JO - BMJ Open

JF - BMJ Open

SN - 2044-6055

IS - 7

M1 - e045660

ER -