Self-care needs and practices for the older adult caregiver: An integrative review

Abstract

Older adult caregivers experience health risks due to the demands of the role, higher prevalence of chronic illness, the aging process, and insufficient time for self-care. Using Whittermore and Knafl's methodology, an integrative review was conducted to explore the self-care needs and practices of older adult caregivers. The terms self-care, caregiver, informal caregiver, carer, family carer, and older adult were used to search the CINAHL, PsychINFO and SocIndex databases and obtain studies published in English between 2010 and 2020. Non-research articles, reviews, mean age of subjects < 50 years, studies focused on formal caregivers were excluded. Fifteen articles met inclusion criteria. Physical activity, stress management, social support, and support resources were identified as self-care needs. Self-care practices included self-advocacy, coping strategies, prioritizing of self, legacy building, and activism. Further exploration is required on how to best support older adult caregivers in fulfilling their caregiving role while promoting their own health.