Chien, C.H., Liu, K.L., Chien, H.T., & Liu, H.E. (2013). The effects of psychosocial strategies on anxiety and depression of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Studies.
To evaluate, by means of meta-analysis and systematic review, evidence regarding the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for anxiety and depression in patients with prostate cancer
Databases searched were PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane Collaboration, and two Chinese databases.
A study was included in the review if it
A study was excluded if it focused on disease other than prostate cancer and lacked intergroup comparison.
Patients were undergoing multiple phases of care.
Findings suggest that psychosocial interventions can be helpful in reducing anxiety and depression, at various time points in the cancer trajectory, for men who are newly diagnosed with prostate cancer. Positive effects were generally short-term only.
Findings of this analysis suggest that various types of psychosocial interventions can help reduce anxiety and depression in men with prostate cancer. Effects shown tended to be short-lived. Nurses can help reduce anxiety and depression among patients with prostate cancer by using psychosocial types of strategies. Information about ways to sustain this effect is limited, and the analysis does not identify the types of approaches that are the most helpful. Further exploration of longer-term sustainable effects and associated dosage and intervention frequency is needed. Given the relatively low level of quality of research in this area, more well-designed studies are needed.