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

Background

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).

Aim

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.

Methods

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.

Results

Even though the included studies reported significant increase in the QoL of the studied patients, the studies have quality concerns.

Conclusion

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.