Family Caregiver Practices to Support Self-Management Among Adults with Serious, Chronic Illness (FR441A)

•Identify at least three practices of family caregivers to support patient self-management of serious, chronic illness.•Identify at least three factors that may help or hinder family caregivers in supporting patient self-management.•Describe how data inform self- and family management of serious, chronic illness. Self-management refers to the daily activities of patients and their family caregivers to co-manage illness. While family caregivers have an integral role in self-management, what they actually do in this role remains unclear. We sought to identify family caregivers’ practices to support patients’ self-management of serious, chronic illness, including facilitators and barriers. For this qualitative metasynthesis of published research containing family caregivers’ reports of their experiences supporting patient self-management of serious, chronic illness, we searched OvidMEDLINE, OVIDPsycINFO, OvidEMBASE, and CINAHL databases. After reviewing articles for eligibility and using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standards for reporting, we extracted practices, facilitators, and barriers from each article and coded them. We then categorized similar practices, facilitators, and barriers. The final sample (n=30 articles) had publication dates from 2000 to 2017 and represented international family caregivers aged 18–89 caring for patients with cancer (20%), heart disease (20%), progressive neurological disease (10%), diabetes (7%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (3%), and other serious, chronic conditions (40%). Self-management practices grouped into the areas of focusing on the patient’s illness needs (e.g., managing symptoms), activating resources to support oneself as the family caregiver (e.g., using technology for information and support), and living with a patient with a serious, chronic illness (e.g., managing caregiver emotions). We categorized facilitators and barriers into the areas of Personal/Lifestyle Characteristics (e.g., patient empowerment), Health Status (e.g., caregiver stress), Resources (e.g., assistive devices), Environmental Characteristics (e.g., stigma), and the Health Care System (e.g., access to care). Across health conditions, the family caregiver role is complex and makes considerable demands that challenge support of patient self-management.