TY - JOUR
T1 - A Systematic Review of the Experiences and Support Needs of Informal Caregivers for People Who Have Attempted Suicide or Experienced Suicidal Ideation
AU - Lavers, George
AU - Andriessen, Karl
AU - Krysinska, Karolina
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: K.K. was supported by an Innovation Research Grant of the Suicide Prevention Research Fund. K.A. was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship (GNT1157796). The funders had no role in the design of the study, in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data, in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/5/1
Y1 - 2022/5/1
N2 - Informal caregivers include family, friends, and significant others who provide important support for people who have attempted suicide or experienced suicidal ideation. Despite the prevalence of suicidal behaviour worldwide, they remain an understudied population. This review aimed to synthesise the literature on the experiences and support needs of informal caregivers of people who have attempted suicide or experienced suicidal ideation. We conducted a systematic review according to PRISMA guidelines. Searches of peer-reviewed literature in Medline, Emcare, Embase, EBM Reviews, and PsycINFO identified 21 studies (4 quantitative and 17 qualitative), published between 1986 and 2021. Informal carers commonly reported symptoms of depression and anxiety, for which they receive little assistance. They also expressed a desire for more involvement and education in the professional care of suicidality. Together, the studies indicated a need to improve the way informal caregiving is managed in professional healthcare settings. This review identified potential avenues for future research, as well as broad areas which require attention in seeking to improve the care of suicidal people and their caregivers.
AB - Informal caregivers include family, friends, and significant others who provide important support for people who have attempted suicide or experienced suicidal ideation. Despite the prevalence of suicidal behaviour worldwide, they remain an understudied population. This review aimed to synthesise the literature on the experiences and support needs of informal caregivers of people who have attempted suicide or experienced suicidal ideation. We conducted a systematic review according to PRISMA guidelines. Searches of peer-reviewed literature in Medline, Emcare, Embase, EBM Reviews, and PsycINFO identified 21 studies (4 quantitative and 17 qualitative), published between 1986 and 2021. Informal carers commonly reported symptoms of depression and anxiety, for which they receive little assistance. They also expressed a desire for more involvement and education in the professional care of suicidality. Together, the studies indicated a need to improve the way informal caregiving is managed in professional healthcare settings. This review identified potential avenues for future research, as well as broad areas which require attention in seeking to improve the care of suicidal people and their caregivers.
KW - attempted suicide
KW - informal caregiver
KW - lived experience
KW - suicidal ideation
KW - suicidality
KW - support needs
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85128706382&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph19095181
DO - 10.3390/ijerph19095181
M3 - Review Article
C2 - 35564578
AN - SCOPUS:85128706382
VL - 19
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
SN - 1661-7827
IS - 9
M1 - 5181
ER -