A systematic review of coping skill interventions to reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms among adults with hematologic malignancies.
Lucy Andersen, Molly McHugh, Connie M Ulrich and 2 others
PMID 36375304WHAT IT FOUND
Problem-focused coping interventions, especially CBT and problem-solving training, reduced anxiety in adults with hematologic cancers; emotion-focused approaches were mixed.
Depression results were less consistent, with CBT showing the most consistent reduction.
Key findings
01Of ten studies that measured anxiety, five found significant symptom reductions, three found small to moderate reductions that were not statistically significant, and two found no reduction.
02Of nine studies that measured depressive symptoms, three found significant reductions, three found small to moderate reductions that were not statistically significant, and three found no reduction.
03Problem-focused interventions, including CBT and problem-solving training, all significantly reduced anxiety, but only CBT significantly reduced depressive symptoms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review included only 11 studies and did not combine them statistically, so it cannot provide a single estimate of benefit. Study quality was moderate: four were randomized controlled trials and seven were quasi-experimental, with some lacking control groups, randomization, or treatment fidelity. Attrition was common, ranging from 0% to 52%, and was linked to high symptom burden, worsening health, death, or lack of time. Anxiety and depression were measured with screening scales, not formal diagnoses, so the findings may not apply to clinical depression or anxiety disorders. Participants were mostly white and college educated, limiting generalizability to underrepresented groups. Interventions varied widely in type, delivery, duration, cancer subtype, and treatment stage, and some programs combined components, so the effect of any single component cannot always be separated.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the anxiety findings as evidence that coping interventions reduce depressive symptoms. The depression results were inconsistent, with only three of nine studies reporting significant reductions.