The Needs of Caregivers of People with Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic noncommunicable diseases, in most cases, generate dependence and require a caregiver; upon assuming such role, the family caregiver experiences overload that affects their quality of life. It is necessary to identify the needs of caregivers in order to establish support strategies for this group of people.

Objective: To identify, in the literature, the needs of caregivers of people with chronic diseases, in order to support such role adoption, the quality of life, social support and overload of the caregiver.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted, using Arksey and O’Malley’s methodology, in the Web of Science, SCOPUS, Proquest, OVID, Science Direct, Medline, CINAHL databases, in English, Spanish and Portuguese, limited to the period 2011-2022. The following keywords were used: caregivers, informal caregivers, family caregivers, nurse, nursing, need, quality of life, support, overload, qualitative research. The following inclusion criteria were taken into account: full-text qualitative articles about caregivers of people with chronic noncommunicable diseases, over 18 years, and with a score greater than or equal to 8 according to the CASPe. Thematic analysis was employed.

Conclusions: The review made it possible to recognize the needs of caregivers, quite extensive due to the lack of support and help, as well as the neglect, by society and the State. It is necessary to continue to address these issues in order to contribute to the implementation of public policies and support strategies for caregivers of chronically-ill people.