REVIEW article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Aging and Public Health

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1603020

This article is part of the Research TopicThe Formal and Informal Workforce for a Global Aging PopulationView all 12 articles

Type and efficacy of online training for informal carers: a narrative review

Provisionally accepted
Daniel BressingtonDaniel Bressington1,2,3Richard John GrayRichard John Gray2,4Karen Maree BarclayKaren Maree Barclay4,5Clair OveryClair Overy4*Irene D BlackberryIrene D Blackberry4,5,6
  • 1Faculty of Nursing , Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
  • 2School of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
  • 3Care Economy Research Institute, La Trobe University, Albury-Wodonga, VIC, Australia
  • 4Care Economy Research Institute, La Trobe University, Albury Wodonga, Australia
  • 5La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, Albury Wodonga, Australia
  • 6John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research, La Trobe University, Albury Wodonga, Australia

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The need to provide training and support for unpaid informal carers of people with various health conditions is well established. This narrative literature review was conducted to explore recent evidence of informal carer eLearning education and training programs, and to guide the design of an online training program for Australian carers, including those living in rural and geographically remote settings. Method: Different combinations of relevant search terms were used across three databases: Google Scholar Advanced, MEDLINE with full text incorporating PUBMED, and CINAHL to search for literature published since 2014. Articles within peer-reviewed journals were chosen based on their topic relevance and strength of evidence. Results: The recent systematic reviews highlight that there is a lack of good quality research evidence for the range and efficacy of eLearning programs designed for carers of veterans and adults with disabilities, or mental health conditions, with most evidence related to carers of older people and people with dementia. Conclusion: Online educational programs for carers of older people and/or older people with dementia, and those with mental health conditions can improve carer well-being. Future programs should be co-designed with carers, evaluate care recipient outcomes, and address recruitment, retention, and information technology skills.

Keywords: elearning, online training, Informal carers, Caregivers, older people, Dementia, support

Received: 31 Mar 2025; Accepted: 14 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Bressington, Gray, Barclay, Overy and Blackberry. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Clair Overy, Care Economy Research Institute, La Trobe University, Albury Wodonga, Australia

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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