Mapping Caregiver Needs' Assessment Tools for Family and Friend Caregivers: A Rapid Scoping Review

Family and friend caregivers provide essential support across health and social care systems but remain inconsistently identified, assessed, and supported in routine practice. Although numerous caregiver needs' assessment instruments exist, many focus on burden, distress, or preparedness rather than explicitly eliciting caregiver-defined support needs, limiting their utility for care planning, care transitions, and system integration.

We conducted a rapid scoping review to identify and characterize caregiver needs' assessment tools developed for family and friend caregivers. Searches were conducted in MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, and the Cochrane Library. Eligible studies described the development, validation, or implementation of instruments designed to assess caregiver needs. Data were extracted on tool characteristics, domains assessed, administration methods, and implementation-relevant features. Item-level content analysis distinguished caregiver-defined support needs from related constructs, including burden, strain, preparedness, and care-recipient monitoring.

Forty-three studies describing caregiver needs' assessment instruments were included (19 instruments; 17 instrument families). Tools varied widely in length, administration, and conceptual framing. Seven domains of caregiver-defined support needs were identified: caregiver health and self-care; emotional and psychological support; information, communication, and navigation; practical and instrumental support; social and relational support; autonomy and life participation; and spiritual, cultural, and existential support. Information and navigation needs were most frequently assessed, while autonomy and spiritual domains were least consistently represented. Many instruments demonstrated construct drift, assessing stressors or impacts rather than explicitly eliciting caregiver-defined support needs. Few tools were designed for longitudinal reassessment, workflow integration, or documentation within electronic medical records.

Existing caregiver needs' assessment tools inadequately support routine, system-integrated caregiver-centered care. Advancing caregiver-centered practice requires tools that explicitly elicit caregiver-defined support needs and are designed for workflow integration, longitudinal use, and interdisciplinary care pathways.