Oral Presentation Palliative Care Nurses Australia Conference 2022

Overnight respite for people living at home with palliative care needs; a systematic review on outcomes of carer fatigue and distress, hospital presentations, place of death, and care costs (#49)

Melanie L Rolfe 1 , Norah Elvidge 1 , Megan Hobbs 1 , Jane L Phillips 1
  1. Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Kelvin Grove, QLD, Australia

Background

Around 22% of informal carers of palliative care patients experience distress, and this is more evident as the amount of time spent caring increases.(1) A literature review exploring unmet needs of cancer patients’ informal carers identified that at least 40% report at least one sleep issue, commonly short sleep duration, nocturnal waking, and daytime dysfunction.(2) Carers play a pivotal role in achieving the preferred place of death for the patient, often used as a measure of quality in palliative care.(3) Planned respite care is perceived by carers to provide a break and opportunity to experience ‘normal life’(4) One study investigating the unmet need of carers identified that over 10% of carers expressed a need for overnight respite (5), however a systematic review of the evidence around overnight respite has not been undertaken.

 

Aims

To identify the impact of home-based overnight respite services on the distress and fatigue experienced by carers of palliative care patients, patients’ hospital attendances or admissions, healthcare costs, or place of death.

Methods

This systematic review was registered with PROSPERO and conducted in accordance with the PRISMA Statement.(6) Data synthesis will utilise a narrative synthesis approach through the use of textual description, grouping, tabulation, rubric transformation, vote counting, and thematic analysis.(7) Included articles will be analysed for quality using the Joanna Briggs Institute’s suite of quality assessment tools.(8)

Outcomes

The synthesis of findings is structured around the outcomes of interest; carer distress and fatigue, hospital presentations, place of death, and care costs.

 

Implications for practice

Data will inform future research through identification of gaps or areas of low quality research, and inform service provision through identification of evidence surrounding the provision of overnight respite in a palliative context.

Conclusion

This study builds on existing literature which identifies overnight respite as a potential solution for unmet needs identified by carers, in facilitating preferred place of care and death, and in reducing healthcare costs. The systematic review fills an evidence gap by synthesising the available data on impacts of overnight respite in a palliative context, which will inform future research and policy makers in community nursing settings.

 

Conflict of interest

The Authors declare no conflicts of interest.

 

Funding acknowledgement

None.

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