The supportive care needs of parents caring for a child with a rare disease : a scoping review

Background: Parents caring for a child with a rare disease report unmet needs, the origins of which are varied and complex. Few studies have systematically attempted to identify the supportive care needs of parents with a child with a rare disease comprehensively. We have used the widely accepted Supportive Care Needs Framework (SCNF) as the structure for this review. Objective: The purpose of the current review was to identify the supportive care needs of parents with a child with a rare disease, irrespective of condition. Methods: We conducted a scoping study review comprising 29 studies (1990–2014) to identify and examine the research literature related to the supportive care needs of parents, and to compare these needs with the seven domains outlined in the SCNF. Results: Most common needs cited were social needs (72% of papers), followed by informational needs (65% of papers) and emotional needs (62% of papers), with the most common parental needs overall being information about their child's disease, emotional stress, guilt and uncertainty about their child's future health care needs, parents own caring responsibilities and the need for more general support. Conclusion: A paucity of studies exists that explore the supportive care needs of parents of a child with a rare disease. The SCNF only partially reflects the breadth and type of needs of these parents, and a preliminary revised framework has been suggested. Further research is required in this area, particularly empirical research to amend or confirm the suggested new framework