SynthesisBMJ supportive & palliative care2016
The preferences and perspectives of family caregivers towards place of care for their relatives at the end-of-life. A systematic review and thematic synthesis of the qualitative evidence.
Synthesis in BMJ supportive & palliative care, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 63 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
63 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A systematic review defining non-beneficial and inappropriate end-of-life treatment in patients with non-cancer diagnoses: theoretical development for multi-stakeholder intervention design in acute care settings.BMC palliative care · 2022Pooled it
- Views and experience of breastfeeding in public: A qualitative systematic review.Maternal & child nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Hospital at home: home-based end-of-life care.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- A systematic review of interventions for family caregivers who care for patients with advanced cancer at home.Patient education and counseling · 2020Pooled it
- Perspectives of older people living in long-term care facilities and of their family members toward advance care planning discussions: a systematic review and thematic synthesis.Clinical interventions in aging · 2017Pooled it
- Hospital at home: home-based end-of-life care.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Perceived Difficulty in Discharging Older Patients With Senility to Home or Care Facilities for End-of-Life Care: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study of Hospital-Based Geriatricians in Japan.Journal of general and family medicine · 2026Article
- PROTOCOL: Experiences of Informal Caregivers of Dependent Older People on Interventions to Reduce Care Burden and Promote Their Biopsychosocial Well-Being.Campbell systematic reviews · 2026Review
- Hospital at home for older patients with heart failure: an observational study of the GIROT experience.European geriatric medicine · 2026Observational
- Unclear boundaries: Family caregivers' invisible role in home-based palliative care in Norway: an exploratory analysis of secondary data from two previous studies.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2026Article
- The Impact of Dementia Caregiving on the Health of the Spousal Caregiver.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Review
- Change of pre-loss grief in relatives of cancer patients: a longitudinal study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Friends and neighbours as non-kin caregivers of seriously ill patients at the end of life: a scoping review of experiences, individual capacities, support needs and services.BMC palliative care · 2025Article
- Social determinants of where people die: A study of moderators and mediators using linked UK Census and mortality data.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- End-of-life care at home: Dignity of family caregivers.Nursing ethics · 2025Article
- Impact of Care-Recipient Health Conditions on Employed Caregiver Well-Being: Measure Development and Validation.Journal of aging and health · 2025Article
- Caregivers influence preferred place of death for patients with an advanced cancer.Palliative & supportive care · 2025Article
- What are family caregivers' experiences of coordinating end-of-life care at home? A narrative review.Palliative & supportive care · 2025Review
- Ambivalent and heavy burdened wanderers on a road less travelled: a meta-ethnography on end-of-life care experiences among family caregivers in rural areas.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Community Preferences for the Care of Older People at the End of Life: How Important is the Disease Context?The patient · 2024Article
3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundHome is often reported as the preferred place of care for patients at the end-of-life. The support of family caregivers is crucial if this is to be realised. However, little is known about their preferences; a greater understanding would identify how best to support families at the end-of-life, ensuring more patients are cared for in their preferred location.
objectivesTo systematically search and synthesise the qualitative literature exploring the preferences and perspectives of family caregivers towards place of care for their relatives at the end-of-life.
methodsTen databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, AMED, ASSIA, CINAHL, Social Care Online, Cochrane Database, Scopus, Web of Science) and reference lists of key journals were searched up to January 2014. Included studies were appraised for quality and data thematically synthesised.
resultsEighteen studies were included; all were of moderate or high quality. Two main themes were identified: (1) Preferences and perspectives: most family caregivers preferred home care, although a range of perspectives were reported. Both positive and negative perspectives of home, hospices and hospitals emerged. At times, family caregivers reported feeling obligated to provide home care. (2) Impact of facilitating home care; both positive and negative effects on family caregivers were reported.
conclusionsMany family caregivers reported home as the preferred place of care; other places of care were infrequently considered. Healthcare professionals and service providers should be aware of these preferences and provide support where needed to enable family caregivers to successfully care at home, thus improving end-of-life experiences for families as a whole.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.