ReviewCancer management and research2025
Determinants and Consequences of Parental Uncertainty in Childhood Cancer: A Systematic Review.
Review in Cancer management and research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Constrained Choices and Meaning-Making: A Qualitative Study of Caregivers of Children With Hematologic Malignancies.Psycho-oncology · 2026Article
- Illness Uncertainty and Coping Strategies Among Families of Children with Cancer in China: A Family-Centered Qualitative Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Purpose: Although illness uncertainty has been widely studied in adults, little is known about this issue in childhood cancer, particularly from parents' perspectives. Unaddressed parental perception of illness uncertainty (parental uncertainty) may undermine both parental well-being and children's treatment outcomes. This systematic review aims to synthesize existing evidence on the determinants and consequences of parental uncertainty in childhood cancer. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, six databases (Scopus, SAGE, Taylor & Francis, MEDLINE Ultimate, PubMed, and ScienceDirect) were systematically searched. Eligible studies were appraised using the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), and data were narratively synthesized. Results: From 979 initially identified records, 14 studies met the inclusion criteria. Parental uncertainty was found to be influenced by both risk and protective factors. Risk factors include older parental age, lower educational attainment, lower income, maternal unemployment, barriers to healthcare access, shorter time since diagnosis, and higher treatment intensity. Protective factors include active coping skills, parental education support, communication support from healthcare providers, and positive parent-child communication. Parental uncertainty was consistently associated with adverse psychological outcomes, such as anxiety, depression, rumination, post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), parenting stress, and dysfunctional problem-solving, while reducing positive outcomes such as resilience, mastery, constructive coping, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Conclusion: Parental uncertainty in childhood cancer is driven by multiple factors and linked to significant psychological burdens, with PTSS as the most prominent consequence. Early interventions targeting parental mental health soon after diagnosis are essential to reduce long-term risks, including PTSD.
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Registered trials
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.