Zhongguo quanke yixue (Mar 2024)
Qualitative Studies on Care and Support Needs in Elderly People with Physical Disability: a Systematic Review
Abstract
Background In the context of population aging, the care needs of the disabled elderly cannot be ignored. A comprehensive understanding of the care and support needs of the elderly with disabilities can provide basis for government policymakers in the development of rational care strategies. Objective To systematically review qualitative studies on the care and support needs of the disabled elderly. Methods In this study, a systematic search of Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang Data, and CBM for relevant qualitative studies was conducted from inception to February 26, 2023. The Joanna Briggs Institute's Critical Appraisal Tool for qualitative studies was performed to evaluate the quality of included qualitative studies. The results of the original qualitative studies were synthesized through a pooled integration approach. Results A total of 33 qualitative studies were finally included, and 7 themes with 18 categories were distilled, including daily activities-related needs (basic activities of daily living, household activities, and caregiving characteristics) , functional independence-related needs (independence in physical functioning, independence in autonomous decision-making) , health care-related needs (content of health care services, health care service experience, expression of needs for health care services) , contextual support-related needs (objective environmental support, policy support) , positive emotional support-related needs (psychological comfort, spiritual care) , social support-related needs (community support services, social engagement, relationship connection, information linkage) , health technology-related needs (care auxiliary equipment, technical services) . Conclusion The care and support needs of the disabled elderly are both complex and diverse. To meet the physical, psychological, social, healthy and environmental needs of the disabled elderly, it is essential for the government to integrate resources from family, community and institutions. Furthermore, attention should be given to the equitable of care resources from a group perspective, and additional social welfare should be provided to support the disabled elderly.
Keywords
