Meeting Carer Health Information Needs in Mental Health: An Integrative Review.

Abstract

Family carer involvement in inpatient mental health care is considered beneficial to patient outcomes. Carers and families of patients in inpatient behavioral units often seek basic information about the unit in terms of visiting protocols, communication with staff, questions about the discharge process, and information on local social supports. Recent national and state laws strongly concur that all caregivers, 26% of whom care for those with mental health illness (American Association of Retired Persons [AARP] and National Alliance for Caregiving [NAC]). Recognize, assist, include, support, and engage (RAISE) Family Caregiver Act 2017 directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create and make public a road map to support caregivers that includes sharing information. The purpose of this integrative review is to explore the needs and information gaps of carers of individuals hospitalized with mental illness. An integrative review where a detailed search strategy of databases through MeSH and associated terms was conducted between 2017 and 2025. Literature was included if it discussed carer-family, patient, and staff communication in the setting of inpatient behavior health hospitalization. Nine papers met the inclusion criteria and found that current carer information needs are not being met. The following themes were explored: information gap, need for basic information, and empowering caregivers with information. This literature review shows that there is a lack of information and support provided to carers of hospitalized patients with severe mental illness. The literature found that the carer should be treated with respect through the pre-arrangement of carer staff time, listening to carers, and focusing on the provision of recovery-oriented language. Future research should focus on determining if changes to involve families in care, staff training, information packets, required staff meetings or calls to carers, or creating or rewording unit literature to reflect recovery-oriented language would help to meet carer information needs. By addressing information gaps and empowering carers, mental health services can enhance care quality, improve patient outcomes, and strengthen the pivotal role of families in the healing process.