Effectiveness of Psychosocial Interventions on Stress, Anxiety, Depression, and Quality of Life in Parents of Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of RCTs.

The pooled effect sizes had high heterogeneity, with I2 values of 88.9% for anxiety, 92.9% for depression, 96% for quality of life, and 88.9% for stress. Many included trials had small samples, with sample sizes ranging from 15 to 157 participants, and several trials did not show significant effects. Most studies lacked long-term follow-up, so it is unclear whether improvements persisted. The analysis included only English-language articles. Because one trial often measured several outcomes, the effect sizes may be dependent. Some factors that could explain differences between studies, such as sample characteristics and control group details, were not consistently reported. The authors did not test how different intervention types interact, so the paper cannot rank specific psychosocial programs.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Do not read the pooled results as proof that any specific psychosocial intervention, or nurse-delivered care alone, works for every parent. The analysis combined different interventions, CBT and other methods did not differ significantly, and heterogeneity was high.