Mapping Self-Care Behaviours Adopted by Family Caregivers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Self-care behaviours are health-promoting activities adopted by family caregivers to maintain and sustain their well-being. Given the impact of COVID-19 on family caregiving, this article presents findings from a scoping review (2020–2023) examining the self-care behaviours adopted by family caregivers (FCGs) to cope with caregiver stress during the pandemic. The review was guided by the Arksey and O’Malley framework. It adopts the two-stage screening process to determine the eligibility of articles. From 4 679 articles initially screened, 10 were included in the review. From these, content related to self-care behaviours, activities, methods, interventions, models and strategies adopted by family caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic was extracted and analysed. The findings revealed that family caregivers participated in health promotion activities and disease prevention training sessions during the pandemic. These measures offered caregivers COVID-19-related guidance on supporting their sick or elderly relatives as well as strategies for managing their own stress, anxiety and depression. They also adopted psychological and mental health behaviours and activities, including physical exercise, healthy eating and other lifestyle changes. This study highlights the need for policymakers in family nursing and elderly care to develop policies that promote the use of technology-driven self-care activities, recognising that the health and well-being of family caregivers is essential for providing effective care to elderly and sick relatives. The review found a lack of studies conducted in resource-limited settings, such as in Africa, suggesting that future research should focus on including populations from these regions.