The Loss of a Spouse Following an Oncological Disease: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Objective: Death from cancer is one of the most frequent worldwide and the spouse is the person most at risk of potentially developing psychological consequences. The following study aims to offer a scoping review of studies on people who have lost their spouses to cancer and treatments that could be recommended to prevent psychological consequences. Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines were used to report the findings of this review. Results: In total, 136 titles and 52 abstracts were selected. Of these 52 articles, 8 articles met all recommendations and inclusion criteria. Conclusions: Although cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide, the issue of bereaved spouses following cancer remains understudied. Several notions and hypotheses were endorsed, such as possible resistance to and difficulties in conducting research on this kind of loss and with caregivers, the role of illness and postmortality in the scientific landscape.