Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32201172›Full record

SynthesisPatient education and counseling2020

A systematic review of interventions for family caregivers who care for patients with advanced cancer at home.

Soojung Ahn, Rafael D Romo, Cathy L Campbell

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Patient education and counseling, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
59citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

59 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Components of family support in women with breast cancer: a systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
    Pooled it
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  9. Trial
  10. Effects of family-centered positive psychological intervention on psychological health and quality of life in patients with breast cancer and their caregivers.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023
    Trial
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  12. Article
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  14. Non-pharmacological interventions for informal cancer caregivers: a JBI scoping review and gap analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Soojung AhnSchool of Nursing, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA. Electronic address: sa4ve@virginia.edu.
Rafael D RomoSchool of Nursing, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA; Department of Nursing, Dominican University of California, San Rafael, USA.
Cathy L CampbellSchool of Nursing, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA.

Funding

Developing prognostic models for life expectancy and geriatric outcomesR01AG047897 · NIA · NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE/RES/EDU · PI LEE, SEI, SMITH, ALEXANDER KELIIMOEANU · 2015 to 2018
$1.7M
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG047897
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo examine the characteristics of interventions to support family caregivers of patients with advanced cancer.

methodsFive databases (CINAHL, Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library) were searched for English language articles of intervention studies utilizing randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental designs, reporting caregiver-related outcomes of interventions for family caregivers caring for patients with advanced cancer at home.

resultsA total of 11 studies met the inclusion criteria. Based on these studies, the types of interventions were categorized into psychosocial, educational, or both. The characteristics of interventions varied. Most interventions demonstrated statistically significant results of reducing psychological distress and caregiving burden and improving quality of life, self-efficacy, and competence for caregiving. However, there was inconsistency in the use of measures.

conclusionsMost studies showed positive effects of the interventions on caregiver-specific outcomes, yet direct comparisons of the effectiveness were limited. There is a lack of research aimed to support family caregivers' physical health. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Given caregivers' needs to maintain their wellbeing and the positive effects of support for them, research examining long-term efficacy of interventions and measuring objective health outcomes with rigorous quality of studies is still needed for better outcomes for family caregivers of patients with advanced cancer.

Indexed as

Quality of LifeAdaptation, PsychologicalCaregiversFamilyHumansNeoplasmsPalliative CareSocial SupportStress, PsychologicalTerminal CareAdvanced cancerFamily caregiverOutcomePalliative careSupport

Identifiers

PMID32201172
PMCPMC7311285

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.