Frontiers Corrigendum Template for Authors Corrigendum: Prevalence of depression among primary caregivers of patients with cancer in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis study

Yilkal Abebaw Wassie ^1* Belayneh Shetie Workneh ² Enyew Mekonen ³ Mohammed Seid Ali ⁴ Masresha Asmare Techane ⁴ Mulugeta Wassie ⁵ Alemneh Tadesse Kassie ⁶ Medina Abdela Ahmed ¹ Sintayehu Simie Tsega ¹ Agazhe Aemro Terefe ¹ Alebachew Ferede Zegeye ¹ Tadesse Tarik Tamir ⁴ Berhan Tekeba ⁴ Girum Nakie ⁷ Setegn Fentahun ⁷ Mamaru Melkam ⁷ Getasew Kibralew ⁷ Gebresilassie Tadesse ⁷ Almaz Tefera Gonete ⁴

• ¹ Department of Medical Nursing, School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
• ² Department of Emergency and Critical Care Nursing, School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
• ³ Department of Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
• ⁴ Department of Pediatrics and Child Health Nursing, School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia., Gondar, Ethiopia
• ⁵ School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia., Gondar, Ethiopia
• ⁶ Department of Clinical Midwifery, School of Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
• ⁷ Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

IntroductionOne-sixth of all fatalities globally are caused by cancer, making it a major public health issue as well as a leading cause of mortality (1). About 10 million deaths in 2020 (2) are expected to be related to cancer, of which it is predicted that more than 19.3 million new cases were discovered and identified just already (3). Moreover, 65% of cancer-related deaths worldwide occur in emerging nations(4). Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries are frequently listed among the world's developing nations, and they are currently facing a substantial cancer burden (5). A little over 70% of cancer-related deaths have occurred in low- and middle-income nations, such as Ethiopia (6).A cancer diagnosis is a terrible and incredibly stressful event for patients and their caretakers. It can cause emotional reactions like pessimism, worthlessness, guilt feelings, irritability, despair, and depression(7). It has a major impact on the practical, psychological, and physical aspects of the lives of patients and caregivers. As cancer therapy progresses, patients' needs have become more complex, ranging from tracking their course of treatment and controlling their symptoms to requesting financial/economic, emotional, and psychological support in addition to assistance with physical care (8, 9). Family carers often experience changes in their mental, physical, and general well-being as well as psychological distress, pressure, and health-risky behaviors as a result of the increased burden. In addition to helping the patient cope with the sickness and treatment, the patient's family is an important source of support (10).More than just consequences to mental and physical health may also be among the possible drawbacks for caregivers. Putting their schooling on hold or quitting altogether is a common occurrence for caregivers, especially the younger ones, and can hurt their future earnings and livelihood (11-13). 72% of cancer caregivers manage numerous medical or nursing obligations, and they put in an average of 32.9 hours per week into their roles. Sixty-two percent of caregivers are categorized as having a "high burden," and normally, caregivers with cancer have a higher average care load than caregivers without sickness (14)Methods Protocol and registrationThe protocol for this systematic review and meta-analysis is registered in the international prospective registration of systemic reviews (PROSPERO) with the ID CRD42024499486. The current review employed a PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) compliant methodology for searching the literature, selecting studies, extracting data, and reporting conclusions(27)(Additional file 1).Search strategyA systemic review and meta‐analysis were carried out by using research studies that revealed the prevalence of depression among caregivers of patients living with cancer. The databases Scopus, African-Wider, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Psychiatry Online, World Health Organization (WHO) reports, and PubMed/MEDLINE were used to search for research articles. A list of research that satisfy the eligibility criterion yielded the references. Every database has a unique search method that mixes free texts with controlled vocabulary (also known as caretaker words). The search for these articles took place between November 20, 2023, and December 30, 2023. We used the following search terms: "prevalence" OR "magnitude" or burden”, OR "epidemiology" OR "proportion" OR "incident." In addition, there are other references to "depression," " depressive symptoms OR depressive disorder OR major depressive disorder OR major depression," AND “caregivers," "carers," OR “informal caregiver "primary caregivers" or "caregivers" OR “friend caregiver "OR “parent caregiver “OR “cancer patients" OR "caretakers" OR "care providers" OR "family caregivers" AND ("Africa"). Through email communication with the relevant authors, we attempt to get the primary or correspondence author to provide any missing information after the data has been retrieved from the papers. Additionally, the included studies' reference lists were discussed, and studies based on the study area were not specifically specified. Eligibility criteria Inclusion criteriaArticles could be included if they met two requirements: they evaluated the result of interest in primary caregivers, and the main outcome of interest was the prevalence of depression and/or associated factors. The study was designed as a cross-sectional, case-control, and cohort study centered in a community or institution.Exclusion criteriaPrevious research reviews, studies on primary caregivers who have a known mental health issue, animal studies, editorials, and studies that only describe depression in paid primary caregivers were disqualified. Additionally, studies whose complete data are unavailable even upon the authors' request were not included.ResultsSearch results1275 studies were found for this study by using a variety of electronic search techniques. 839 of these studies were eliminated due to redundancy. Additionally, 420 studies were disregarded after we examined their abstracts and titles because their full texts were unavailable, they weren't done in Africa, their study demographics and locations differed, and they weren't relevant to our review. Six investigations were eliminated for different reasons after an additional 16 full-text papers were evaluated for eligibility based on the inclusion criteria. Ultimately, this systematic review and meta-analysis contained 10 studies that matched the eligibility criteriaDiscussion The current study conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis, estimating the African level of pooled prevalence of depression among primary caregivers of patients with cancer showing an interesting result. Ten studies, with 1983 primary caregivers, investigated across five countries, were encompassed in the current review. In general, the review findings indicated that the overall prevalence of depression among primary caregivers of patients with cancer in Africa was found to be 47.21% with a 95% CI (31.76, 62.65). The prevalence of depression found in the current review was consistent with related studies conducted in other countries. According to the previously conducted studies six yearsand two years before, the overall global prevalence of depression among primary caregivers of patients with cancer was comparable with our findings of 42.3% and 42.08% respectively.ConclusionThe current systematic review and meta-analysis showed that depression was prevalent among primary caregivers of patients with cancer in Africa. The study also highlighted variability in prevalence based on country, method of depression assessment, and population subgroups. Therefore, public health interventions targeting the mental health of caregivers should be promoted.