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

• ¹ University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia
• ² Universf Gondar, Gonfdar, Ethiopia

Background: Cancer is one of the main causes of the most extremely stressful events that can elicit emotional reactions like depression. Cancer patient caregivers are the most involved members of the oncology team and play an important role in patient's disease management and palliation which may adversely affect their health in the longer run, but many times the caregiver has been overlooked and ignored team. A corresponding systematic review on this topic has not yet been undertaken, even though there have been several studies about depression among primary caregivers of patients with cancer in Africa.Methods: To find papers, searches were conducted through the databases PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, African Journal Online, and Google Scholar. A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet was used to extract the data, which were then transferred to STATA version 14 for analysis. The statistical heterogeneity was evaluated by using Cochran's Q and I 2 statistics. To identify publication bias, Egger regression tests, and funnel plot analysis were employed. A sensitivity and subgroup analysis were carried out.Results: Entirely 1983 study respondents from ten studies were included in the current systematic and meta-analysis. The overall pooled prevalence of depression among primary caregivers of patients with cancer was 47.21% with a 95% CI (31.76, 62.65: I 2 =98.4%). According to subgroup analysis; the pooled prevalence of depression was higher in the studies that used the back depression inventory screening tool 63.95% (95% CI: 58.76, 69.13). Additionally, we observed a high pooled prevalence of depression was existing studies were conducted in Kenya 62.7% (95% CI: 56.45, 68.95). Lastly, a greater prevalence of depression was found among primary caregivers of children with cancer 64.61 % (95% CI: 58.19, 71.03).The 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. Priority should be given to those who care for children.