Systematic review of factors associated with hope in family carers of persons living with chronic illness

AIMS: To identify factors associated with hope in family carers of persons living with chronic illness. DESIGN: A systematic review of quantitative and mixed method studies on hope in carers of persons living with chronic illness. DATA SOURCES: Five electronic databases (Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Web of Science, ProQuest Dissertations and PsycINFO) were searched from inception to 13 July 2020. REVIEW METHODS: Inclusion criteria were the following: (a) study population of adult (18 years of age and older) carers of persons living with chronic illness, (b) hope was measured as a variable, (c) reported factors associated with hope, (d) employed either quantitative or mixed methods design, (e) written in English and (f) was published in peer reviewed journals. All included studies were evaluated for quality using the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool. RESULTS: Twenty-six studies were included in the systematic review. Quality of life, physical and mental health, life satisfaction and the hope of care recipients were found to be positively associated with hope. Carer's coping increased (self-efficacy and caregiver preparedness) as hope increased with a decrease in maladaptive coping strategies. Anxiety, depression, distress, grief and guilt were negatively associated with carers' hope. Carers' hope did not appear to be associated with carer or care-recipient demographic variables. CONCLUSION: Carers' hope appears to be associated with the carers' over all positive health. The factors associated with carers' hope provide potential areas to focus intervention development such as strategies that increase self-efficacy. More research is needed to clarify if factors such as stage of disease and resilience are associated with hope. Research on carers' hope assessment and intervention development should also focus on factors associated with hope. IMPACT: The findings underscore the need to assess and work with carers of persons living with chronic illness to enhance their hope.