Informal Caregiving, Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Systematic Review

<i>Background:</i> Several empirical studies have shown an association between informal caregiving for adults and loneliness or social isolation. Nevertheless, a systematic review is lacking synthesizing studies which have investigated these aforementioned associations. Therefore, our pu...

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Autores principales:	André Hajek, Benedikt Kretzler, Hans-Helmut König
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	informal caregiving loneliness private caregiving social exclusion social isolation spousal caregiving Medicine R
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/914874b95f0d4dea83a49fea991392d7
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:914874b95f0d4dea83a49fea991392d72021-11-25T17:51:08ZInformal Caregiving, Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Systematic Review10.3390/ijerph1822121011660-46011661-7827https://doaj.org/article/914874b95f0d4dea83a49fea991392d72021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/12101https://doaj.org/toc/1661-7827https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601<i>Background:</i> Several empirical studies have shown an association between informal caregiving for adults and loneliness or social isolation. Nevertheless, a systematic review is lacking synthesizing studies which have investigated these aforementioned associations. Therefore, our purpose was to give an overview of the existing evidence from observational studies. <i>Materials and Methods:</i> Three electronic databases (Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL) were searched in June 2021. Observational studies investigating the association between informal caregiving for adults and loneliness or social isolation were included. In contrast, studies examining grandchild care or private care for chronically ill children were excluded. Data extractions covered study design, assessment of informal caregiving, loneliness and social isolation, the characteristics of the sample, the analytical approach and key findings. Study quality was assessed based on the NIH Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. Each step (study selection, data extraction and evaluation of study quality) was conducted by two reviewers. <i>Results:</i> In sum, twelve studies were included in our review (seven cross-sectional studies and five longitudinal studies)—all included studies were either from North America or Europe. The studies mainly showed an association between providing informal care and higher loneliness levels. The overall study quality was fair to good. <i>Conclusion</i>: Our systematic review mainly identified associations between providing informal care and higher loneliness levels. This is of great importance in assisting informal caregivers in avoiding loneliness, since it is associated with subsequent morbidity and mortality. Moreover, high loneliness levels of informal caregivers may have adverse consequences for informal care recipients.André HajekBenedikt KretzlerHans-Helmut KönigMDPI AGarticleinformal caregivinglonelinessprivate caregivingsocial exclusionsocial isolationspousal caregivingMedicineRENInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 12101, p 12101 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	informal caregiving loneliness private caregiving social exclusion social isolation spousal caregiving Medicine R
spellingShingle	informal caregiving loneliness private caregiving social exclusion social isolation spousal caregiving Medicine R André Hajek Benedikt Kretzler Hans-Helmut König Informal Caregiving, Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Systematic Review
description	<i>Background:</i> Several empirical studies have shown an association between informal caregiving for adults and loneliness or social isolation. Nevertheless, a systematic review is lacking synthesizing studies which have investigated these aforementioned associations. Therefore, our purpose was to give an overview of the existing evidence from observational studies. <i>Materials and Methods:</i> Three electronic databases (Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL) were searched in June 2021. Observational studies investigating the association between informal caregiving for adults and loneliness or social isolation were included. In contrast, studies examining grandchild care or private care for chronically ill children were excluded. Data extractions covered study design, assessment of informal caregiving, loneliness and social isolation, the characteristics of the sample, the analytical approach and key findings. Study quality was assessed based on the NIH Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. Each step (study selection, data extraction and evaluation of study quality) was conducted by two reviewers. <i>Results:</i> In sum, twelve studies were included in our review (seven cross-sectional studies and five longitudinal studies)—all included studies were either from North America or Europe. The studies mainly showed an association between providing informal care and higher loneliness levels. The overall study quality was fair to good. <i>Conclusion</i>: Our systematic review mainly identified associations between providing informal care and higher loneliness levels. This is of great importance in assisting informal caregivers in avoiding loneliness, since it is associated with subsequent morbidity and mortality. Moreover, high loneliness levels of informal caregivers may have adverse consequences for informal care recipients.
format	article
author	André Hajek Benedikt Kretzler Hans-Helmut König
author_facet	André Hajek Benedikt Kretzler Hans-Helmut König
author_sort	André Hajek
title	Informal Caregiving, Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Systematic Review
title_short	Informal Caregiving, Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Systematic Review
title_full	Informal Caregiving, Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Systematic Review
title_fullStr	Informal Caregiving, Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Systematic Review
title_full_unstemmed	Informal Caregiving, Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Systematic Review
title_sort	informal caregiving, loneliness and social isolation: a systematic review
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/914874b95f0d4dea83a49fea991392d7
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Informal Caregiving, Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Systematic Review

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