Table 1.
A Summary of Key Characteristics of Included Studies (N = 55)
| Number of studies (%) | |
|---|---|
| Publication year | |
| 1991–1999 | 7 (13) |
| 2000–2010 | 18 (33) |
| 2011–2020 | 30 (54) |
| Country | |
| United States of America | 31 (56) |
| Canada | 7 (13) |
| United Kingdom | 4 (7) |
| Taiwan | 4 (7) |
| Australia | 4 (7) |
| Germany | 1 (2) |
| Spain | 1 (2) |
| India | 1 (2) |
| Norway | 1 (2) |
| Malaysia | 1 (2) |
| Study methods | |
| Qualitative method | 33 (60) |
| Cross-sectional | 14 |
| Longitudinal | 1 |
| Case study | 4 |
| Grounded theory | 3 |
| Quantitative method | 20 (36) |
| Cross-sectional | 16 |
| Correlational | 7 |
| Longitudinal | 3 |
| Retrospective | 1 |
| Mixed method | 2 (4) |
| Cross-sectional | 1 |
| Longitudinal | 1 |
| Study setting (some studies were conducted in more than one type of settings) | |
| Community settings | |
| Hospice/end-of-life care | 28 (50) |
| Oncology clinics | 10 (18) |
| Home care services | 8 (15) |
| Palliative care clinics | 6 (11) |
| Long-term care facilities | 2 (4) |
| Inpatient settings | |
| Oncology | 5 (9) |
| Palliative care | 3 (5) |
| Hospice care | 1 (2) |
| Intensive care unit | 1 (2) |
| Patient diagnosis | |
| Metastatic or advanced cancer | 46 (84) |
| Noncancer | 9 (16) |
| Others or unspecified diseases | 4 (4) |
| Dementia and Alzheimer's disease | 3 (5) |
| Respiratory disease | 1 (2) |
| Neuromuscular | 1 (2) |
| Sample type | |
| Included caregivers only | 27 (49) |
| Included both caregivers and patients | 24 (44) |
| Included caregivers and health care providers | 2 (4) |
| Included caregivers, patients, and health care providers | 2 (4) |
| Sample size (No. of participants) | |
| >500 | 1 (2) |
| >300–499 | 3 (5) |
| 101–299 | 8 (15) |
| 50–99 | 16 (30) |
| 11–49 | 22 (40) |
| <10 | 5 (10) |