Burnout and Burden among Informal Caregivers in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Review of Their Effects and Potential Interventions

Background: Informal caregivers play a pivotal role in palliative care delivery in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where health system constraints frequently shift the responsibility for long-term care from healthcare facilities to families. While caregiving enables patients to remain within their communities, it often exposes caregivers to substantial physical, psychological, social, and economic challenges. Despite growing evidence on caregiver burden and burnout, the available literature in SSA remains fragmented, limiting its utility for policy and practice. This scoping review mapped the existing evidence on caregiver burden and burnout among informal caregivers in SSA and synthesised interventions aimed at mitigating these challenges. Methods: A scoping review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Electronic searches were undertaken in PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar for studies published in English between January 2015 and December 2025. Two independent reviewers screened studies, extracted data, and conducted methodological appraisal using Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools. A narrative thematic synthesis was performed to summarise the evidence. Results: Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Four major themes emerged: (1) multidimensional caregiver burden, characterized by psychological distress, physical exhaustion, social isolation, and reduced quality of life; (2) socioeconomic consequences, including financial hardship, reduced employment, and household economic instability; (3) health system factors, particularly shortages of healthcare professionals, inadequate caregiver preparation, and limited community-based palliative care services that intensified caregiver responsibilities; and (4) interventions to reduce caregiver burden, including psychosocial support, caregiver education, mindfulness-based programmes, collaborative healthcare partnerships, and telephone-based support. Although these interventions demonstrated potential benefits in improving caregiver well-being, most evidence originated from high-income countries, with limited intervention research conducted within SSA. Conclusion: Informal caregivers in sub-Saharan Africa experience substantial multidimensional burden driven by individual caregiving demands, socioeconomic challenges, and health system constraints. Existing evidence highlights promising interventions to improve caregiver well-being; however, robust context-specific research evaluating culturally appropriate and scalable caregiver support programmes in SSA remains scarce. Integrating caregiver assessment, education, psychosocial support, and community-based services into palliative care programmes is essential to strengthen caregiver well-being and improve the quality of palliative care across the region.