Family caregivers’ use and evaluation of patient medical products or assistive devices: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Family caregivers are not formally included in medical product or assistive device development despite commonly helping care recipients with such products. We conducted a systematic literature review to understand the state of the science in the U.S. pertaining to caregivers’ use and evaluation of medical products and reported outcomes. Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), we assessed articles in PubMed and Google Scholar. Not applicable. The final analysis involved 11 articles on caregiver engagement, which pertained to: (1) developing trainings for device use; (2) perceptions of technology-based devices; and (3) symptom management or symptom detection assessments. Only a few studies (n = 2) incorporated scales or measurement of caregiver perceptions (e.g., best-worst scaling) or compared patient-caregiver agreement in evaluation (n = 2). Few studies in the U.S. have assessed caregiver engagement in medical product development. Available findings suggest benefit of caregiver engagement, but more research is needed regarding measurement of caregiver preferences, congruence of patient-caregiver evaluation, and benefit to patients and caregivers.