Abstract: Objective: To systematically evaluate the medication management experience of family caregivers of aged patients with polypharmacy to provide a reference for developing individualized support strategies for family caregivers to participate in medication management. Methods: We searched both Chinese and English databases to include eligible literatures whose quality was later evaluated. The retrieval time limit was from the inception to 26th, December 2023. The results were summarized using the meta-synthesis of qualitative research. Results: A total of 11 articles were included from which 39 research topics were extracted and summarized into 13 new categories. The new categories were grouped into 4 integrated findings: the tasks and participation types of family caregivers; influencing factors of family caregivers' participation in medication management; the challenges and needs of family caregivers; the effective strategies adopted by family caregivers in the process of medication management. Conclusion: The experience of family caregivers participating in medication management is complex and diverse. Medical staff should respect the different participation types caregivers in medication management practice and provide professional and individualized guidance for them to improve their participation experience, and provide medication management support services for elderly patients with polypharmacy and their caregivers.

Key words: polypharmacy; aged; family caregivers; medication management; experience; Meta-synthesis