Home-based care models for patients with terminal illnesses in low and middle-income countries: A systematic review of randomized and quasi-experimental studies

• Published in: Archives of gerontology and geriatrics 2024-12, Vol.127, p.105580, Article 105580
• Main Authors: Sani, Dalhat Khalid, Yunusa, Umar, Kombo, Salihu Abdulrahman, Ibrahim, Attahir, Sani, Hadiza Mohammed, Umar, Shehu Salihu, Ladan, Muhammad Awwal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Developing Countries; End-of-life care; Home Care Services - organization & administration; Home-based care; Humans; Patients; Quality of Life; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Terminal Care - methods; Terminally ill
• ISSN: 0167-4943; 1872-6976; 1872-6976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2024.105580

•There is a large number of people with terminal illnesses in LMICs.•Home-based care has been established to improve the QoL of terminally ill patients.•There is however a general paucity of studies on home-based care in LMICs.•More studies are needed with improved qualities and spread in the region. With the increasing lifespan of people and the transition from communicable to non-communicable diseases across the globe, there is an increasing number of people with terminal illnesses requiring home-based care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). This systematic review evaluated home-based care models for patients with terminal illnesses in LMICs. The primary outcomes measured are quality of life (QoL), adherence to treatment, fatigue, bimanual and related activities. This review was conducted in accordance with the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) recommendations. Four databases; Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), MEDLINE (Ovid), Cochrane Library and Scopus, were systematically searched for potentially relevant studies. Screening of records (titles/abstracts from and full-texts) was done and a total of seven studies (four Randomized Control Trials [RCTs] and three quasi-experimental studies) were included in this review. Even though the included studies reported significant increase in the QoL of the studied patients, the studies have quality concerns. Noting the general paucity of existing studies coupled with quality concerns across geographies in LMICs. More studies on home-based care for patients with terminal illness are needed with improved qualities and spread in these regions.