ArticleBMC palliative care2025
Palliative care conditions managed at home and self-reported challenges experienced by informal home-based caregivers in Rwanda: a qualitative study.
Article in BMC palliative care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Meta-synthesis of qualitative research on comfort experiences of family caregivers in hospice care: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Care competency scale for family caregivers in home palliative care: Turkish adaptation, validity, and reliability study.BMC palliative care · 2026Article
- The burden and needs of primary caregivers in home-based palliative care: a qualitative study based on social-ecological systems theory.BMC palliative care · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionA greater dependency on informal home-based caregivers to assist patients in their homes stems from Rwanda's rising palliative care needs and the burden of terminal illnesses. These caregivers play a critical role in addressing patients' physical and emotional needs and assisting with daily activities. However, in low-resource settings like Rwanda, limited attention has been given to understanding their lived experiences and the challenges they face. This study primarily aimed to explore the lived experiences and caregiving challenges of informal home-based caregivers providing palliative care. A secondary aim was to describe the range of life-threatening conditions being managed at home under their care.
methodsA qualitative descriptive study design was used to gain in-depth insights into the common palliative conditions managed at home, the caregiving practices employed, and the challenges experienced by informal caregivers. Twenty (20) participants were purposively selected from Nyamasheke and Rusizi districts in Rwanda, all of whom were providing home-based care to terminally ill patients. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews and analyzed thematically using open coding in Atlas.ti software.
resultsInformal home-based Caregivers managed an assortment of chronic and life-threatening illnesses, assuming challenging responsibilities like medication administration, wound care, mobility assistance, and emotional support. Analysis revealed a hierarchy of interrelated themes reflecting the multifaceted challenges of caregiving. These included Caregiver Burden, Financial and Material Constraints, and Structural and Systemic Challenges, each underscoring the intense physical, emotional, and logistical demands Informal home-based caregivers faced. Additional themes such as the Lived Experience of Illness, Coping Mechanisms, and Community and Informal Support highlighted how caregivers navigated these pressures, often with limited guidance or resources. Finally, the theme of Recommendations for Support emerged, offering insight into potential interventions to better assist caregivers. These themes were consistent across caregiving contexts, regardless of the specific illness involved.
conclusionUnspecified wound cancer with multiple chronic diseases and advanced illnesses together with hypertension and stroke complications are among the major palliative conditions reported and managed at home. Informal home-based caregivers face substantial responsibilities and numerous challenges during the provision of palliative care at home. Caregiving in this context remains undervalued and under-supported. There is an urgent need for targeted support systems and policy reforms to strengthen home based caregiver to improve the quality of life of home-based caregivers in Rwanda.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.