Couple-Based Communication Interventions for Cancer Patient–Spousal Caregiver Dyads’ Psychosocial Adaptation to Cancer: A Systematic Review

Abstract

(1) Background: Effective communication among couples in which one has been diagnosed with cancer is critical to improve their psychosocial adaptation to cancer. The objective of this review was to explore the characteristics and measurement outcomes of existing couple-based communication interventions in the cancer context. (2) Methods: Eight electronic databases were searched from database initiation to August 2022 to identify eligible articles. Hand searching was also performed on the included articles’ reference lists and authors. (3) Results: A total of 14 intervention studies were eligible to be included in this review. Cancer couples with distress or communication problems before intervention were more likely to benefit from the couple-based communication interventions. Positive outcomes were reported, including an improvement in relationship functioning (including mutual communication, intimacy, and relationship satisfaction) and individual functioning (including a decline of anxiety, depression and cancer-related concerns, and an increase in psychological adjustment and quality of life). (4) Conclusions: These findings supported the importance of improving mutual communication behaviors to promote cancer patient–spousal caregiver dyads’ psychosocial adaptation to cancer. While most included studies were conducted in western countries and the sample size was relatively small, more research is warranted to develop more efficacious couple-based communication interventions.

Effectiveness of dyadic interventions among cancer dyads: An overview of systematic reviews and meta‐analyses

“…Among the reviews conducted, eight employed the Cochrane criteria to evaluate quality (Brandão et al, 2014;Guan et al, 2023;Hu et al, 2019;Li et al, 2023;McDonnell et al, 2022;Pang et al, 2022;Wang et al, 2021), and six adopted the Effective Public Health Practice Project Li et al, 2020;Li & Loke, 2014;Luo et al, 2020;Regan et al, 2012;Zhou et al, 2023). , 2018;Li et al, 2020;Pang et al, 2022;Song et al, 2021).…”

“…Sixteen reviews reported psychological outcomes (e.g. psychological distress, anxiety, depression), while 11 documented relationship functioning and quality of life (Badr & Krebs, 2013;Brandão et al, 2014;Chen, Gong, & Li, 2022;Hu et al, 2019;Jonsdottir et al, 2018;Li et al, 2023;Li & Loke, 2014;Luo et al, 2020;Regan et al, 2012;Song et al, 2021;Zhou et al, 2023).…”

“…Fatigue was reported in nine reviews (Badr & Krebs, 2013;Brandão et al, 2014;Hu et al, 2019;Jonsdottir et al, 2018;Luo et al, 2020;McDonnell et al, 2022;Regan et al, 2012;Song et al, 2021;Zhou et al, 2023), and dyadic coping was documented in four reviews (Brandão et al, 2014;Chen, Gong, & Li, 2022;Jonsdottir et al, 2018;Li & Loke, 2014).…”

“…Six reviews with low to high quality have shown significant positive effects of couples-based interventions on anxiety (Guan et al, 2023;Hu et al, 2019;Li et al, 2023;Pang et al, 2022;Regan et al, 2012;Zhou et al, 2023). Conversely, a review of low quality demonstrated no considerable difference concerning anxiety levels with couple-based dyadic intervention (Wang et al, 2021) TA B L E 6 GRADE quality of evidence scores for quality of life reported in the systematic reviews included in the overview of systematic reviews.…”

“…Conversely, a review of low quality demonstrated no considerable difference concerning anxiety levels with couple-based dyadic intervention (Wang et al, 2021) TA B L E 6 GRADE quality of evidence scores for quality of life reported in the systematic reviews included in the overview of systematic reviews. However, three reviews with very low to high quality found no notable variance in depression levels between the group that underwent couple-based intervention and the control group (Pang et al, 2022;Wang et al, 2021;Zhou et al, 2023). Therefore, further evaluation using adequate motivation and robust randomized controlled trials to explore the effects of dyadic interventions on psychological outcomes is warranted.…”