SOCIOECONOMIC REALITY OF INFORMAL CAREGIVERS OF DEPENDENT INDIVIDUALS AT HOME: SCOPE REVIEW

Abstract

An informal caregiver is someone who assumes this role due to an emotional or kinship bond with the person needing assistance, without receiving training or payment. To understand how financial burdens affect the lives of caregivers of dependent adults, it is essential to know the economic reality of these individuals and the financial difficulties they face, especially regarding the expenses necessary for adapting to and maintaining care over time. The objective is to map the available evidence in the literature on the socioeconomic reality of informal caregivers of dependent individuals at home. This is a scoping review, based on the guidelines proposed by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The guiding question used was: "What is the socioeconomic reality of informal caregivers of dependent adults?" The searches were conducted in the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, SCOPUS, LILACS, BDENF databases and on the ProQuest platform to include grey literature using the descriptors "family caregiver", "financial stress", "home care" and "adult". Twenty-four studies were selected, and it was observed that the caregivers were adults, mostly over 40 years old, women, with low income/education levels, and spouses of the patients. Furthermore, they were mostly unemployed, resided in urban areas, and faced difficulties related to social isolation. The patients were adults whose dependency was related to dementia, cancer, mental illness, disabilities, or the use of invasive medical devices. It is concluded that the results can improve the knowledge of professionals on this topic, aiming to enhance care and provide support for the development of policies aimed at this population.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2025.036-055