ReviewBMJ open2021
What are the consequences of caring for older people and what interventions are effective for supporting unpaid carers? A rapid review of systematic reviews.
Review in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Nurse Telephone Support for Caregivers of Older Adults at Hospital Discharge: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- Association of Physical Activity with Psychological Distress and Poor Mental Health Days Among Informal Caregivers of Older Adults: Findings from the 2023 BRFSS Caregiver Module.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- "Don't tell me I'm going to feel joy": The emotional burden of informal caregivers of patients with a fragility fracture discharged from a rehabilitation hospital.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2026Article
- Article
- Core needs screening items for informal caregivers of older adults: an online modified Delphi study.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Prevalence and Predictors of Caregiver Distress in Six European Communities: Data From the IBenC Study, Using interRAI-Home Care Assessments.Scandinavian journal of caring sciences · 2025Article
- Article
- Self-Assessment Instruments for Supporting Family Caregivers: An Integrative Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- What works to support carers of older people and older carers? an international evidence map of interventions and outcomes.BMC geriatrics · 2024Review
- Characteristics of older unpaid carers in England: a study of social patterning from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.Age and ageing · 2024Article
- Efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness of obinutuzumab in patients with follicular lymphoma: a rapid review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
- Development and content of a community-based reablement programme (I-MANAGE): a co-creation study.BMJ open · 2023Article
- A Qualitative Study to Understand the Impact of Caring for Traumatic Injury Survivors.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Applying a dyadic outcomes approach to supporting older carers and care-recipients: A qualitative study of social care professionals in England.Health & social care in the community · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo identify and map evidence about the consequences of unpaid caring for all carers of older people, and effective interventions to support this carer population.
designA rapid review of systematic reviews, focused on the consequences for carers of unpaid caring for older people, and interventions to support this heterogeneous group of carers. Reviews of carers of all ages were eligible, with any outcome measures relating to carers' health, and social and financial well-being. Searches were conducted in MEDLINE, PsycInfo and Epistemonikos (January 2000 to January 2020). Records were screened, and included systematic reviews were quality appraised. Summary data were extracted and a narrative synthesis produced.
resultsTwelve systematic reviews reporting evidence about the consequences of caring for carers (n=6) and assessing the effectiveness of carer interventions (n=6) were included. The review evidence typically focused on mental health outcomes, with little information identified about carers' physical, social and financial well-being. Clear estimates of the prevalence and severity of carer outcomes, and how these differ between carers and non-carers, were absent. A range of interventions were identified, but there was no strong evidence of effectiveness. In some studies, the choice of outcome measure may underestimate the full impact of an intervention.
conclusionsCurrent evidence fails to fully quantify the impacts that caring for older people has on carers' health and well-being. Information on social patterning of the consequences of caring is absent. Systematic measurement of a broad range of outcomes, with comparison to the general population, is needed to better understand the true consequences of caring. Classification of unpaid caring as a social determinant of health could be an effective lever to bring greater focus and support to this population. Further work is needed to develop and identify suitable interventions in order to support evidence-based policymaking and practice.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.