Palliative care experience among primary caregivers of children with cancer in low and lower-middle-income countries: a qualitative systematic review protocol.
Paediatric palliative care (PPC) improves the quality of life of children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, with caregivers playing an important role. Providing PPC in low-income and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) is challenging due to limited resources, inadequate access to specialised care, financial constraints, and cultural or religious beliefs. This study aims to synthesise qualitative research on the experiences of primary care givers caring for children with cancer receiving palliative care in LMICs.
A systematic search will be conducted using electronic databases: MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), Embase, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Health Literature), Web of Science, and PsycINFO. Additional articles will be searched in the reference list of the selected articles. Review questions will be framed into different components according to the Population, phenomena of Interest, Context, and Outcome (PICO) framework. Primary caregivers of children with cancer will be the population of interest. Both title and abstract screening and full-text screening will be done by two independent reviewers. The quality of included studies will be assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist for qualitative research. The thematic synthesis approach will be followed as it will allow a transparent summarising of the qualitative data.
This study is not subject to ethics approval, as the work is carried out on published documents. The findings of this review will be disseminated among a broader audience through scientific channels, including publication in open-access journals and presentations at both national and international forums.
CRD420251065491.
A systematic search will be conducted using electronic databases: MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), Embase, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Health Literature), Web of Science, and PsycINFO. Additional articles will be searched in the reference list of the selected articles. Review questions will be framed into different components according to the Population, phenomena of Interest, Context, and Outcome (PICO) framework. Primary caregivers of children with cancer will be the population of interest. Both title and abstract screening and full-text screening will be done by two independent reviewers. The quality of included studies will be assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist for qualitative research. The thematic synthesis approach will be followed as it will allow a transparent summarising of the qualitative data.
This study is not subject to ethics approval, as the work is carried out on published documents. The findings of this review will be disseminated among a broader audience through scientific channels, including publication in open-access journals and presentations at both national and international forums.
CRD420251065491.
Authors
Nawaratne Nawaratne, Weerasingha Navarathnage Weerasingha Navarathnage, Denagamagei Denagamagei, Seneviwickrama Seneviwickrama
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