Information Needs of Family Carers of People with Diabetes at the End of Life: A Literature Review

Abstract

Recent research identified the issue that family carers of people with diabetes at the end of life (EOL) did not receive sufficient information to enable them to help their relative manage their diabetes at the EOL. The aim of the current study was to undertake a literature review to identify the information needs of family carers of people with diabetes at the EOL. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted by searching the following databases: CINAHL, PubMed, PsychInfo, Scopus, and SocINDEX. The grey literature was also searched for papers relevant to the aim. All study designs were included. A content analysis of relevant papers was undertaken to identify themes. Sixteen of the more than 300 papers identified addressed the information needs of family carers of people with diabetes at the EOL and were included in the review. Five key themes were identified from the papers reviewed: (1) performing diabetes care tasks, (2) focus of care, (3) blood glucose management, (4) EOL stages, and (5) involving patients and family carers in decisions about diabetes care. Most of the 16 papers represented the views of health professionals and focused on the need to provide information about the medical aspects of diabetes management. The review suggests further research is needed to identify the information needs of family carers of people with diabetes at the EOL to enable interventions to be developed to support the family carers and meet their unique information needs.