Communication Interventions for Families with Parental Cancer With Dependents: Findings from a Scoping Review.

This is a scoping review, so it maps intervention types and gaps rather than answering whether an intervention works. Relevant studies may have been missed because terms used to describe parents with cancer and dependent children were inconsistent. Many included studies were qualitative, feasibility, pilot, or intervention development work, so they do not establish treatment effects. The reviewed studies often did not include all family members, did not use family theory, and did not analyse dyadic or family outcomes. The evidence base was narrow, with 19 articles limited to female participants and 19 limited to breast cancer diagnoses; race was not reported in 22 articles. Only three interventions were web-based, so the review does not show digital delivery is feasible or effective. Parents with cancer often reported better communication after intervention when coparents and children did not, which limits conclusions about whole-family benefit. The review did not include grey literature.

Do not read this as evidence that family communication interventions improve communication or psychological outcomes for parents, coparents, or children. It is a scoping review of intervention types and gaps, and no study examined how the interventions impacted dyadic or family outcomes.