Table 1 Study and intervention characteristics
Reference & country | Study design | Participants | Interventions Structure components | Content components | Outcome measures Variables – Measures | Time points | Results | Study qualitya | Evidence levelb | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aktaş et al. 2014 [41] Turkey | RCT Repeated measures Experimental | Patients with gynecological cancer N = 70 Intervention – Home Care Service: n = 35 Attention control: n = 35 Age: M = 49 43% ovarian, 43% endometrial, 14% cervical cancer | Provider/receiver | Nurse (not specified)/patients | Disease | Psychosocial symptoms | Sexual satisfaction – Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS) | T1: pre-surgery T2: 12 weeks post-surgery | • Significant improvement in intervention group at T2 in overall sexual satisfaction (p = .001) and in its subscales ‘sexual non-communication’, ‘anorgasmia’, ‘avoidance’, ‘vaginismus’, ‘dissatisfaction’, and ‘non-sensuality’ (all p < .05) • No significant improvement in the ‘infrequency of sexual contact’ subscale (p = .77) | Low | 1c |
Time frame | Repeated consultations before, during, and after active treatment | Treatment | Psychosocial symptoms | ||||||||
Mode of delivery | Face-to-face | Symptom Management | Symptom etiology; symptom prevention; symptom treatment | ||||||||
Format & setting | Individual counseling; clinic & home | ||||||||||
Materials | Symptom-management guideline; individual care plans | Resources | Social network | ||||||||
Concepts | Structured & tailored counseling | ||||||||||
Chow et al. 2014 [42] China | RCT Mixed methods Feasibility study Repeated measures Experimental | Patients newly diagnosed with gynecological cancer scheduled for surgery N = 26 Intervention – psychoeducational program: n = 13 Attention control: n = 13 Age: M = 51 31% cervical, 54% uterine, 15% ovarian cancer | Provider/receiver | Non-APN with academic education/patients | Disease | Etiology; physical and psychosocial symptoms | Quality of life – Traditional Chinese Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General Sexual functioning – Sexual functioning-Vaginal changes Questionnaire Uncertainty – Mishel’s Uncertainty in Illness Scale Anxiety/depression – Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale Social support – Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey | T1: pre-surgery T3: 8 weeks post-surgery T3: 8 weeks post-surgery T1: pre-surgery T2: post-surgery T3: 8 weeks post-surgery | • No significant group differences in overall quality of life and its ‘physical’, ‘functional’, ‘emotional’ and ‘social’ subscales, in sexual functioning, in overall uncertainty and its ‘ambiguity’, ‘complexity’, and ‘unpredictability’ subscales, in anxiety and depression, and in social support (all p > .05) • Significant improvement at T2 in intervention group in the uncertainty subscale ‘inconsistency’ (p = .026) | Moderate | 1c |
Time frame | Repeated, long consultations before, during, and after active treatment | Treatment | Therapeutic procedures; physical and psychosocial symptoms | ||||||||
Mode of delivery | Face-to-face & phone | Symptom Management | Symptom prevention; symptom treatment | ||||||||
Format & setting | Individual & group counseling; clinic | ||||||||||
Materials | no materials | Resources | Personal capabilities; social network; healthcare services | ||||||||
Concepts | Structured & tailored; theoretical basis | ||||||||||
Cox et al. 2008 [46] United Kingdom | One-group pretest-posttest Case series Pre-experimental | Patients with ovarian cancer having completed chemotherapy Telephone follow-up on chemotherapy symptom management: N = 56 Age: M = 62 | Provider/receiver | APN with academic education/patients | Disease | Etiology; diagnostic procedures | Quality of life – FACT Ovarian (FACT O) Patient experience and satisfaction –self-designed patient experience and satisfaction questionnaire | T1: after chemotherapy completion T2: 10 months from baseline | • No significant improvement in overall quality of life and its ‘physical’, ‘functional’, ‘social’, and ‘symptoms’ subscales (all p > .05) • Significant improvement in the ‘emotional’ quality of life subscale (p = .016) • Patient satisfaction and experience high (M = 8.24, SD = 2.0) at T2 (no pretest scores provided) | Low | 4c |
Time frame | Repeated, short consultations after active treatment | Treatment | Physical and psychosocial symptoms | ||||||||
Mode of delivery | Phone | Symptom Management | Symptom etiology; symptom treatment | ||||||||
Format & setting | Individual counseling | ||||||||||
Materials | Symptom-assessment tool; symptom-management guideline; leaflets | Resources | Personal capabilities; social network; healthcare services | ||||||||
Concepts | Structured & tailored counseling; inter-disciplinary orientation | ||||||||||
Donovan et al. 2014 [25] USA | RCT Waitlist-control Pilot study Repeated measures Experimental | Patients with persistent or recurrent ovarian cancer N = 65 Intervention – Web-based symptom management: n = 33 Control: n = 32 Age: M = 56 | Provider/receiver | Non-APN with academic education/patients | Disease | Physical and psychosocial symptoms | Symptom outcomes – Symptom Representation Questionnaire (SQR) | T1: pre-intervention T2: 2 weeks post-intervention T3: 6 weeks post-intervention | • Significant improvement of symptom distress over time (p = .037) and of symptom severity at T1 in intervention group (p = .058) • No significant group differences in symptom consequences or symptom controllability (all p > .05) • Patients highly satisfied with intervention and web-based delivery (Mdn not provided) | High | 1c |
Time frame | Repeated consultations before, during, and after active treatment | Treatment | Physical and psychosocial symptoms | ||||||||
Mode of delivery | Internet | Symptom Management | Symptom etiology; symptom assessment; goal setting & planning; symptom prevention/treatment; evaluation & modification | ||||||||
Format & setting | Individual counseling | Satisfaction with intervention – self-designed questionnaire | T3: 6 weeks post-intervention | ||||||||
Materials | Symptom-assessment tool; symptom-management guidelines; individual care plans | ||||||||||
Concepts | Structured & tailored; interdisciplinary orien-tation theoretical basis; | Resources | Personal capabilities; healthcare services | ||||||||
Liu et al. 2001 [48] Taiwan | Posttest-only with nonequivalent comparison group Observational-descriptive study Repeated measures Pre-experimental | Patients with cervical cancer who had radical hysterectomy N = 20 Intervention I – Educational program for lower urinary tract self-care by a head nurse + written material: n = 11 Intervention II – Educational program for lower urinary tract self-care by a staff nurse: n = 9 | Provider/receiver | Intervention I & II: non-APN without academic education/patients | Disease | Intervention I & II: no content | Knowledge about Foley care & bladder training – self-designed questionnaire | T1: at discharge T2: at readmission 2 weeks later | • Significant improvement of knowledge in intervention I at T1 (p = .004), but not at T2 (p = .71) • No significant group differences at T2 in performance at home, urinalysis, or urine culture (all p > .05) | Moderate | 4b |
Time frame | Intervention I & II: Repeated consultations during active treatment | Treatment | Intervention I & II: Physical symptoms | ||||||||
Mode of delivery | Intervention I & II: face-to-face | Symptom Management | Intervention I & II: symptom assessment; symptom prevention; symptom treatment; evaluation & modif | Home performance of Foley catheter self-care – self-designed questionnaire Urinalysis, urine culture – laboratory records | T2: at readmission 2 weeks later | ||||||
Format & setting | Intervention I & II: individual; clinic | ||||||||||
Materials | Intervention I: leaflet Intervention II: none | ||||||||||
Concepts | Intervention I & II: structured counseling | Resources | Intervention I & II: no content | ||||||||
Maughan et al. 2001 [26] United Kingdom | RCT Mixed methods Repeated measures Experimental | Patients with gynecological cancer and major pelvic surgery N = 36 Intervention – Clinical Nurse Specialist intervention: n = 19 Control: n = 17 Age: M = 50 | Provider/receiver | APN with academic education/patients, families | Disease | Not specified | Quality of life – European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) | T1: pre-surgery T2: 6 weeks post-surgery T3: 12 weeks post-surgery T4: 14 weeks post-surgery T5: 24 weeks post-surgery | • Significant improvement in overall quality of life (p = .04) in the intervention group • No significant group differences in the ‘physical’, ‘cognitive’, ‘emotional’, ‘social’, and ‘sexual’ quality of life subscales, as well as in sexual functioning (all p > .05) | Moderate | 1c |
Time frame | Repeated consultations before, during, and after active treatment | Treatment | Therapeutic procedures; psycho-social symptoms | ||||||||
Mode of delivery | Face-to-face | Symptom Management | Symptom etiology; symptom prevention; symptom treatment | ||||||||
Format & setting | Individual counseling; clinic & home | ||||||||||
Materials | Leaflets | Resources | Personal capabilities; social network; healthcare services | Sexual functioning – Lasry Sexual Function Scale | T3: 12 weeks post-surgery T5: 24 weeks post-surgery | ||||||
Concepts | structured & tailored; interdisciplinary orientation | ||||||||||
McCorkle et al. 2009 [43] USA | RCT Repeated measures Experimental | Patients with ovarian cancer following surgery and scheduled for chemotherapy N = 149 Intervention – Advanced Practice Nurse intervention + Psychiatric Consultation-Liaison Nurse (PCLN) for women with high distress: n = 74 Attention control: n = 75 Age: M = 60 | Provider/receiver | APN with academic education/patients, families | Disease | Physical & psychosocial symptoms | Depression – Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) Uncertainty – Ambiguity subscale of the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale (MUIS) Symptom distress – Symptom Distress Scale (SDS) Overall quality of life – Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) | T1: 24-48 h post-surgery T2: 1 month post-surgery T3: 3 months post-surgery T4: 6 months post-surgery | • Significant improvement of uncertainty concerning ambiguity (p = .018), symptom distress (p < .001), ‘physical’ and ‘cognitive’ quality of life subscales (all p < .001) over time in intervention group • No significant group differences over time in overall quality of life and depression (all p > .05) | High | 1c |
Time frame | Repeated consultations during and after active treatment | Treatment | Decision-making; physical & psycho-social symptoms | ||||||||
Mode of delivery | Face-to-face & phone | Symptom Management | Symptom etiology; symptom assessment; goal setting & planning; symptom prevention, symptom treatment; evaluation & modification of strategies | ||||||||
Format & setting | Individual counseling; clinic & home | ||||||||||
Materials | Symptom-assessment tool; symptom-management guideline; individual care plan | ||||||||||
Concepts | Structured & tailored counseling; interdisciplinary orientation; theoretical basis | Resources | Social network; healthcare services | ||||||||
McCorkle et al. 2011 [44] USA | Same study like McCorkle et al. 2009 [43] | N = 149 Intervention: n = 74 Attention control: n = 75 Age: M = 61 | Same structure and content like in McCorkle et al. 2009 [43] | Healthcare utilization – self-designed patient questionnaire, review of medical records | T1: pre-surgery T2: 6 weeks post-surgery | • Significant less primary care visits in intervention group (p < .001) • No significant group differences in hospitalizations, oncology outpatient visits, and emergency room visits (all p > .05) | High | 1c | |||
Nolte et al. 2006 [45] USA | RCT Mixed methods Repeated measures Multicenter Experimental | Patients with gynecologic cancer and chemotherapy-induced alopecia N = 136 Intervention I – standard counseling: n = 68 Intervention II – standard counseling + videotape: n = 68 Age: M = 58 Ovarian, uterine, and cervical cancer | Provider/receiver | Intervention I & II: Nurse (not specified)/patients | Disease | Intervention I & II: no content | Body image & self-esteem – Body Cathexis/Self-Cathexis Scale (BCSCS) | T1: before chemotherapy cycle 1 T2: before chemotherapy cycle 3 T3: after chemotherapy cycle 4 | • No significant group differences in body image and self-esteem (all p > .05) | Moderate | 1c |
Time frame | Intervention I & II: One-time consultation before active treatment | Treatment | Intervention I & II: physical symptoms | ||||||||
Mode of delivery | Intervention I & II: face-to-face | Symptom Management | Intervention I & II: symptom etiology; symptom treatment | ||||||||
Format & setting | Intervention I & II: individual counseling; clinic | ||||||||||
Materials | Intervention I & II: Symptom-management guideline Intervention II: video | Resources | Intervention I & II: healthcare services | ||||||||
Concepts | Intervention I & II: structured counseling; theoretical basis | ||||||||||
So et al. 2006 [47] China | One-group pretest-posttest Case series – | Patients with cervical cancer receiving brachytherapy | Provider/receiver | Nurse (not specified)/patients, families | Disease | No content | Knowledge & attitudes regarding vaginal douching – self-designed questionnaire | T1: presumably 1–2 weeks before brachytherapy T2: presumably 1–2 weeks before brachytherapy T3: admission day brachytherapy | • Significant improvement of knowledge from pre-intervention to T2 and from pre-intervention to T3 (p < .001) • Significant improvement of attitudes towards self-care from pre-intervention to T2 (p < .001), but not from pre-intervention to T3 (p > .05) | Moderate | 4c |
Treatment | Physical symptoms | ||||||||||
repeated measures Pre-experimental | Education program on vaginal douching: N = 30 | Time frame | One-time, long consultation before active treatment | Symptom Management | Symptom etiology; symptom assessment, symptom prevention; symptom treatment | ||||||
Mode of delivery | Face-to-face | ||||||||||
Format & setting | Individual counseling (presumably); clinic | ||||||||||
Concepts | Structured & tailored counseling | Resources | No content | ||||||||