SynthesisJournal of clinical nursing2026
Is the Active Involvement of Family Caregivers in Adult Hospital Care Effective to Improve Patient Outcomes? A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Journal of clinical nursing, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Discharge Learning Needs and Associated Factors Among Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of clinical nursing · 2026Observational
- Follow-up Loss After Curative Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer: Incidence, Contributing Factors, and Survival Impact.The Korean journal of gastroenterology = Taehan Sohwagi Hakhoe chi · 2026Article
- Association Between Family Caregiver Oral Care Practices and Oral Health Status in Rehabilitation Ward Patients With Dysphagia.Special care in dentistry : official publication of the American Association of Hospital Dentists, the Academy of Dentistry for the Handicapped, and the American Society for Geriatric DentistryArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
aimTo investigate the effects of active involvement of family caregivers in adult in-hospital care on patients' readmissions, complications, mortality, length of hospital stay, quality of life, psychological distress and activities of daily living, as well as on the satisfaction of patients, HCPs and family caregivers.
designSystematic review. DATA SOURCES: Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, EBSCO CINAHL, Cochrane Library (from inception to February 2024).
methodsThe PRISMA 2020 statement was followed. Prospective controlled studies focusing on active involvement of family caregivers in adult in-hospital care were included. Two independent teams of authors conducted study selection, quality assessment and data extraction.
resultsThirteen studies were included, comprising 11 randomised controlled trials. The clinical and methodological heterogeneity precluded a meta-analysis. Six of these studies were performed in stroke patients. Some studies reported statistically significant benefits of active family involvement on readmission rates, hospital LOS, ADL, psychological distress for patients and family members, QoL and satisfaction of family caregivers. However, others did not observe differences in these outcomes. For complication rates, mortality and satisfaction of patients and HCPs, no studies demonstrated significant differences between groups.
conclusionFurther research is needed to provide a conclusive answer as to whether active family caregiver involvement improves outcomes of adult hospitalised patients. IMPLICATIONS FOR PATIENT CARE: Despite the inconclusive findings of this review, advocating for active involvement of family caregivers in adult in-hospital care fits the perspective of patient- and family-centred care. IMPACT: As the care of hospitalised adults is shifting to a more family-centric approach, investigating the effects of an active role of family caregivers in adult in-hospital care is necessary. However, the small number of studies available and heterogeneity between studies included in this review hamper firm conclusions. Further evaluations through well-designed studies are required.
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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.