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Cited by 45Cancer survivorship and careChildhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of LifeCancer-related cognitive impairment studies

Psychosocial interventions for cancer survivors: a meta-analysis of effects on positive affect

Open access
Salsman, John M., Pustejovsky, James E., Schueller, Stephen M., Hernandez, Rosalba, Berendsen, Mark, McLouth, Laurie E. Steffen, Moskowitz, Judith T.·2019·Journal of Cancer Survivorship
DOI 10.1007/s11764-019-00811-8PMC PMC7330880
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Abstract

Purpose Positive affect has demonstrated unique benefits in the context of health-related stress and is emerging as an important target for psychosocial interventions. The primary objective of this meta-analysis was to determine whether psychosocial interventions increase positive affect in cancer survivors.Methods We coded 28 randomized controlled trials of psychosocial interventions assessing 2082 cancer survivors from six electronic databases. We calculated 76 effect sizes for positive affect and conducted synthesis using random effects models with robust variance estimation. Tests for moderation included demographic, clinical, and intervention characteristics.Results Interventions had a modest effect on positive affect (g = 0.35, 95% CI [0.16, 0.54]) with substantial heterogeneity of effects across studies ([Formula: see text]; I 2 = 78%). Three significant moderators were identified: in-person interventions outperformed remote interventions (P = .046), effects were larger when evaluated against standard of care or wait list control conditions versus attentional, educational, or component controls (P = .009), and trials with survivors of early-stage cancer diagnoses yielded larger effects than those with advanced-stage diagnoses (P = .046). We did not detect differential benefits of psychosocial interventions across samples varying in sex, age, on-treatment versus off-treatment status, or cancer type. Although no conclusive evidence suggested outcome reporting biases (P = .370), effects were smaller in studies with lower risk of bias.Conclusions In-person interventions with survivors of early-stage cancers hold promise for enhancing positive affect, but more methodological rigor is needed.Implications for cancer survivors Positive affect strategies can be an explicit target in evidence-based medicine and have a role in patient-centered survivorship care, providing tools to uniquely mobilize human strengths.

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  • There are significant gaps in young adult survivorship intervention research.

    “there are significant gaps in YA survivorship intervention research [8].”

    From A digital, coach-assisted intervention to address the psychosocial needs of young adult cancer survivors: Randomized controlled trial protocol and intervention adaptation process (2024) · cites this paper as [8]

    The Discussion identifies gaps in psychosocial intervention research for cancer survivors, including limited long-term follow-up and a need for more rigorous studies. It does not identify those gaps specifically in young adult survivorship research; its age analysis reports no clear evidence of differential benefit across samples varying in age. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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  • There is a pressing need for interventions addressing YA survivors' psychosocial concerns to enhance quality of life across the lifespan.

    “Given the increasing number of YA survivors [1] and the impacts of cancer across various aspects of life, particularly among YAs [2-6, 8], there is a pressing need for interventions addressing YA survivors’ psychosocial concerns in order to enhance quality of life across the lifespan [7].”

    From A digital, coach-assisted intervention to address the psychosocial needs of young adult cancer survivors: Randomized controlled trial protocol and intervention adaptation process (2024) · cites this paper as [8]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) says psychosocial interventions can increase positive affect and may help survivors manage long-term psychosocial effects of cancer. It does not establish a pressing need for interventions specifically addressing young adult survivors, or show that such interventions enhance quality of life across the lifespan. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Authors
Salsman, J. M., Pustejovsky, J. E., Schueller, S. M., Hernandez, R., Berendsen, M., McLouth, L. E. S., & Moskowitz, J. T.
Affiliations
  • Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist (US)
  • The University of Texas at Austin (US)
  • University of California, Irvine (US)
  • Northwestern University (US)
  • Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center (US)
Corresponding author
Salsman, John M.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Cancer Survivorship
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2019-11-19
Volume
13
Issue
6
Pages
943-955
ISSN
  • 1932-2259 (ISSN-L)
  • 1932-2267
DOI
10.1007/s11764-019-00811-8
PMC
PMC7330880
OpenAlex
W2990599010
Cited by
45
References
104
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 6
FWCI
0.36
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Cancer Survivorship (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Cancer Institute (CA184560, CA122061)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of Life
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Cancer-related cognitive impairment studies
Keywords
psychosocial interventions, cancer survivors, positive affect, survivorship care, early-stage cancer, health stress, human strengths, intervention moderators
MeSH terms
Cancer Survivors, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Neoplasms, Psychology, Quality of Life, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

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