Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of psychosocial interventions designed to improve the psychological distress of informal caregivers of cancer patients compared with usual care. Methods: Nine relevant databases were searched from inception to November 2020. We included randomized controlled trials focused on comparing psychosocial interventions delivered to informal cancer caregivers with usual care. Study quality was evaluated with the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool, and meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager statistical software. Results: Fifteen studies involving 1006 participants met the inclusion criteria, and several kinds of psychosocial interventions were applied to either cancer caregivers or patient-caregiver dyads. Compared to usual care, psychosocial interventions manifested positive, significant results in depression (SMD=-0.47, 95%CI -0.71 to -0.24, P<0.001) and anxiety (SMD=-0.50, 95%CI -0.91 to -0.09, P=0.02). And the psychosocial interventions have no significant effect on general psychological distress (SMD=-0.25, 95%CI -0.54 to 0.05, P=0.10) and subjective burden (SMD=-0.06, 95%CI -0.26 to 0.14, P=0.55) of cancer caregivers. Conclusion: Psychosocial interventions designed for cancer caregivers can effectively reduce depression and anxiety, while no significant results were found in general distress and subjective burden of cancer caregivers. More studies with stronger methodological designs and larger samples are still needed in the future.
| Published in | American Journal of Nursing Science (Volume 9, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajns.20200906.24 |
| Page(s) | 459-465 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Cancer, Caregivers, Psychosocial Intervention, Meta-analysis
| [1] | Cancer key facts. World Health Organization. 2018. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer. |
| [2] | Schulz R, Beach SR, Czaja SJ, Martire LM, Monin JK. Family caregiving for older adults. Annual review of psychology. 2020; 71: 635-659. |
| [3] | Burnette D, Duci V, Dhembo E. Psychological distress, social support, and quality of life among cancer caregivers in Albania. Psycho-oncology. 2017; 26 (6): 779-786. |
| [4] | Kim Y, Wellisch DK, Spillers RL, Crammer C. Psychological distress of female cancer caregivers: effects of type of cancer and caregivers' spirituality. Supportive Care in Cancer. 2007; 15 (12): 1367-1374. |
| [5] | O'Toole MS, Mennin DS, Applebaum A, et al. A Randomized Controlled Trial of Emotion Regulation Therapy for Psychologically Distressed Caregivers of Cancer Patients. JNCI cancer spectrum. Feb 2020; 4 (1): pkz074. |
| [6] | Kubo A, Kurtovich E, McGinnis M, et al. A Randomized Controlled Trial of mHealth Mindfulness Intervention for Cancer Patients and Informal Cancer Caregivers: A Feasibility Study Within an Integrated Health Care Delivery System. Integrative cancer therapies. Jan-Dec 2019; 18: 1534735419850634. |
| [7] | Laudenslager ML, Simoneau TL, Mikulich-Gilbertson SK, et al. A randomized control trial of stress management for caregivers of stem cell transplant patients: Effect on patient quality of life and caregiver distress. Psycho-oncology. 2019; 28 (8): 1614-1623. |
| [8] | Badr H, Krebs P. A systematic review and meta-analysis of psychosocial interventions for couples coping with cancer. Psycho-Oncology. Aug 2013; 22 (8): 1688-1704. |
| [9] | Tang WPY, Chan CWH, Leung DYP, Chan DNS. The effects of psychoeducational interventions on caregivers of children with cancer: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Child Health Care. Mar 2020; 24 (1): 123-142. |
| [10] | Northouse LL, Katapodi MC, Song L, Zhang L, Mood DW. Interventions with family caregivers of cancer patients: meta-analysis of randomized trials. Ca A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2010; 60 (5): 317-339. |
| [11] | Huedo-Medina TB, Sánchez-Meca J, Marín-Martínez F, Botella J. Assessing heterogeneity in meta-analysis: Q statistic or I2 index? Psychological Methods. 2006; 11 (2): 193. |
| [12] | Hoekstra-Weebers JE, Heuvel F, Jaspers JP, Kamps WA, Klip EC. Brief report: an intervention program for parents of pediatric cancer patients: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of pediatric psychology. 1998-Jun 1998; 23 (3): 207-214. |
| [13] | Laudenslager ML, Simoneau TL, Kilbourn K, et al. A randomized control trial of a psychosocial intervention for caregivers of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients: effects on distress. Bone Marrow Transplantation. Aug 2015; 50 (8): 1110-1118. |
| [14] | Manne S, Babb J, Pinover W, Horwitz E, Ebbert J. Psychoeducational group intervention for wives of men with prostate cancer. Psycho-oncology. 2004; 13 (1): 37-46. |
| [15] | Couper J, Collins A, Bloch S, et al. Cognitive existential couple therapy (CECT) in men and partners facing localised prostate cancer: a randomised controlled trial. Bju International. 2015; 115: 35-45. |
| [16] | WU Qianqian, LIN Xiaoji, CAI Limeng, et al. Study On Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Improving the Mental Status among Family Members of Terminal Tumor Patients. Chinese Medical Ethics. 2018; 31 (06): 754-757. |
| [17] | Schellekens MPJ, van den Hurk DGM, Prins JB, et al. Mindfulness-based stress reduction added to care as usual for lung cancer patients and/or their partners: A multicentre randomized controlled trial. Psychooncology. Dec 2017; 26 (12): 2118-2126. |
| [18] | Baucom DH, Porter LS, Kirby JS, Gremore TM, Keefe FJ. A couple-based intervention for female breast cancer. Psycho-Oncology. 2010; 18 (3): 276-283. |
| [19] | Safarabadi-Farahani A, Maarefvand M, Biglarian A, Khubchandani J. Effectiveness of a Brief Psychosocial Intervention on Quality of Life of Primary Caregivers of Iranian Children With Cancer: a Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of pediatric nursing. 2016; 31 (4): e262-270. |
| [20] | Toseland RW, Blanchard CG, McCallion P. A problem solving intervention for caregivers of cancer patients. Social science & medicine (1982). 1995; 40 (4): 517-528. |
| [21] | Shaw JM, Young JM, Butow PN, et al. Improving psychosocial outcomes for caregivers of people with poor prognosis gastrointestinal cancers: a randomized controlled trial (Family Connect). Supportive care in cancer. 2016; 24 (2 // *National Health and Medical Research Council* // 632645 (NHMRC) *National Health and Medical Research Council*): 585-595. |
| [22] | Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Dikshit R, et al. Cancer incidence and mortality worldwide: sources, methods and major patterns in GLOBOCAN 2012. International journal of cancer. 2015; 136 (5): E359-E386. |
| [23] | Hodges L, Humphris G, Macfarlane G. A meta-analytic investigation of the relationship between the psychological distress of cancer patients and their carers. Social science & medicine. 2005; 60 (1): 1-12. |
| [24] | Hagedoorn M, Sanderman R, Bolks HN, Tuinstra J, Coyne JC. Distress in couples coping with cancer: a meta-analysis and critical review of role and gender effects. Psychol Bull. 2008; 134 (1): 1. |
| [25] | Waldron EA, Janke EA, Bechtel CF, Ramirez M, Cohen A. A systematic review of psychosocial interventions to improve cancer caregiver quality of life. Psycho-Oncology. 2013; 22 (6): 1200-1207. |
| [26] | Northouse L, Williams A-l, Given B, McCorkle R. Psychosocial care for family caregivers of patients with cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2012; 30 (11): 1227-1234. |
| [27] | Minshall C, Pascoe M, Thompson D, et al. Psychosocial interventions for stroke survivors, carers and survivor-carer dyads: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Topics in stroke rehabilitation. 2019; 26 (7): 554-564. |
| [28] | Akarsu N, Prince M, Lawrence V, Das-Munshi J. Depression in carers of people with dementia from a minority ethnic background: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials of psychosocial interventions. International journal of geriatric psychiatry. 2019; 34 (6): 790-806. |
| [29] | Jütten L, Mark R, Wicherts J, Sitskoorn M. The Effectiveness of Psychosocial and Behavioral Interventions for Informal Dementia Caregivers: Meta-Analyses and Meta-Regressions. Journal of Alzheimer's disease: JAD. 2018; 66 (1): 149-172. |
| [30] | Borji M, Nourmohammadi H, Otaghi M, Salimi AH, Tarjoman A. Positive Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Depression, Anxiety and Stress of Family Caregivers of Patients with Prostate Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention: APJCP. Dec 28 2017; 18 (12): 3207-3212. |
| [31] | Marsland AL, Long KA, Howe C, Thompson AL, Tersak J, Ewing LJ. A pilot trial of a stress management intervention for primary caregivers of children newly diagnosed with cancer: preliminary evidence that perceived social support moderates the psychosocial benefit of intervention. Journal of pediatric psychology. 2013; 38 (4): 449-461. |
APA Style
Zheng Zhang, Shanshan Wang, Ziwei Liu, Zekai Li. (2020). Psychosocial Interventions to Improve Psychological Distress of Informal Caregivers of Cancer Patients: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trial. American Journal of Nursing Science, 9(6), 459-465. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajns.20200906.24
ACS Style
Zheng Zhang; Shanshan Wang; Ziwei Liu; Zekai Li. Psychosocial Interventions to Improve Psychological Distress of Informal Caregivers of Cancer Patients: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trial. Am. J. Nurs. Sci. 2020, 9(6), 459-465. doi: 10.11648/j.ajns.20200906.24
AMA Style
Zheng Zhang, Shanshan Wang, Ziwei Liu, Zekai Li. Psychosocial Interventions to Improve Psychological Distress of Informal Caregivers of Cancer Patients: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trial. Am J Nurs Sci. 2020;9(6):459-465. doi: 10.11648/j.ajns.20200906.24
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.ajns.20200906.24,
author = {Zheng Zhang and Shanshan Wang and Ziwei Liu and Zekai Li},
title = {Psychosocial Interventions to Improve Psychological Distress of Informal Caregivers of Cancer Patients: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trial},
journal = {American Journal of Nursing Science},
volume = {9},
number = {6},
pages = {459-465},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajns.20200906.24},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajns.20200906.24},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajns.20200906.24},
abstract = {Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of psychosocial interventions designed to improve the psychological distress of informal caregivers of cancer patients compared with usual care. Methods: Nine relevant databases were searched from inception to November 2020. We included randomized controlled trials focused on comparing psychosocial interventions delivered to informal cancer caregivers with usual care. Study quality was evaluated with the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool, and meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager statistical software. Results: Fifteen studies involving 1006 participants met the inclusion criteria, and several kinds of psychosocial interventions were applied to either cancer caregivers or patient-caregiver dyads. Compared to usual care, psychosocial interventions manifested positive, significant results in depression (SMD=-0.47, 95%CI -0.71 to -0.24, P<0.001) and anxiety (SMD=-0.50, 95%CI -0.91 to -0.09, P=0.02). And the psychosocial interventions have no significant effect on general psychological distress (SMD=-0.25, 95%CI -0.54 to 0.05, P=0.10) and subjective burden (SMD=-0.06, 95%CI -0.26 to 0.14, P=0.55) of cancer caregivers. Conclusion: Psychosocial interventions designed for cancer caregivers can effectively reduce depression and anxiety, while no significant results were found in general distress and subjective burden of cancer caregivers. More studies with stronger methodological designs and larger samples are still needed in the future.},
year = {2020}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Psychosocial Interventions to Improve Psychological Distress of Informal Caregivers of Cancer Patients: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trial AU - Zheng Zhang AU - Shanshan Wang AU - Ziwei Liu AU - Zekai Li Y1 - 2020/12/22 PY - 2020 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajns.20200906.24 DO - 10.11648/j.ajns.20200906.24 T2 - American Journal of Nursing Science JF - American Journal of Nursing Science JO - American Journal of Nursing Science SP - 459 EP - 465 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-5753 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajns.20200906.24 AB - Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of psychosocial interventions designed to improve the psychological distress of informal caregivers of cancer patients compared with usual care. Methods: Nine relevant databases were searched from inception to November 2020. We included randomized controlled trials focused on comparing psychosocial interventions delivered to informal cancer caregivers with usual care. Study quality was evaluated with the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool, and meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager statistical software. Results: Fifteen studies involving 1006 participants met the inclusion criteria, and several kinds of psychosocial interventions were applied to either cancer caregivers or patient-caregiver dyads. Compared to usual care, psychosocial interventions manifested positive, significant results in depression (SMD=-0.47, 95%CI -0.71 to -0.24, P<0.001) and anxiety (SMD=-0.50, 95%CI -0.91 to -0.09, P=0.02). And the psychosocial interventions have no significant effect on general psychological distress (SMD=-0.25, 95%CI -0.54 to 0.05, P=0.10) and subjective burden (SMD=-0.06, 95%CI -0.26 to 0.14, P=0.55) of cancer caregivers. Conclusion: Psychosocial interventions designed for cancer caregivers can effectively reduce depression and anxiety, while no significant results were found in general distress and subjective burden of cancer caregivers. More studies with stronger methodological designs and larger samples are still needed in the future. VL - 9 IS - 6 ER -
Information
Email: