Challenges and support needs among family caregivers involved in solid organ transplant care process: a scoping...

Family caregivers play an indispensable role in the care of solid organ transplant patients, undertaking a wide range of tasks from basic daily care to complex medical management. However, these responsibilities come with substantial challenges, placing additional strain on caregivers who bear significant physical, emotional, financial and social burdens, along with numerous unmet support needs. Currently, the exploration of challenges and support needs among family caregivers in the caregiving process is limited to primary research, lacking a synthesised and comprehensive understanding of the issues. Therefore, the aim of this scoping review is to summarise the available evidence to accentuate the diverse challenges encountered by family caregivers and to identify their specific supportive needs, while also pinpointing the areas of research that have yet to be explored.

Following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews, this review will be conducted. The initial search of PubMed to identify keywords was conducted on 16 November 2024. Additionally, Web of Science Core Collection, ProQuest, Scopus, CINAHL (EBSCOhost), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and China Wan Fang database will be systematically searched for relevant literature. No language or date restrictions will be applied. Two reviewers will independently screen the articles based on title, abstract and full text. Data extraction and analysis of results will be presented in tables or graphs.

Ethical approval is not necessary for this scoping review. The study findings will be published in open-access journals after peer review. These findings will provide information for healthcare providers to alleviate the plight of family caregivers and to pave the way forward towards more resilient caregiver support systems.