Potentially inappropriate end-of-life care and its association with relatives’ well-being: a systematic review

Potentially inappropriate end-of-life cancer care (e.g., frequent hospital admission and emergency room visits in the last month of life) is known to be associated with a poorer quality of life of patients, but research on its association with the well-being of relatives is scarce. The aim of this systematic literature review was to evaluate the association between potentially inappropriate end-of-life cancer care and relatives’ well-being. We conducted a systematic search and review, and reported according to the PRISMA guideline, on the association between potentially inappropriate end-of-life cancer care and well-being of relatives before and after the death of their loved one. Pubmed, PsycInfo, Embase, and CINAHL were searched for studies published from January 2000 to July 2022. Studies’ quality was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Checklists from the Joanne Briggs Institute (JBI). We identified eight studies including 10,062 relatives (59–79