Resilience interventions for stress-related health outcomes in patients with cancer: Findings from a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE

This systematic review aimed to synthesize evidence from randomized controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness of resilience interventions in improving stress-related health outcomes among patients with cancer and to provide a theoretical and practical foundation for advancing non-pharmacological interventions in nursing practice.

METHODS

This study adhered to the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A literature search was conducted using five major databases: PubMed, EBSCO, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL. In addition, a manual search was performed using Google Scholar. Two independent researchers assessed the methodological quality of the included studies using the Revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2). This study has been registered in PROSPERO (registration number: CRD420261283027).

RESULTS

The 33 included randomized controlled trials reported 70 outcome measures across 3,614 patients with cancer. The methodological quality of the included studies ranged from low risk to high risk, with most studies classified as having some concerns or a high risk of bias. Among the 19 outcomes assessing depression, 12 showed significant post-intervention reductions. Of the 21 outcomes evaluating anxiety, 16 showed significant post-intervention reductions. Of the 26 outcomes related to quality of life, 23 showed significant post-intervention improvements. Finally, among the 4 outcomes assessing perceived stress, 3 showed significant post-intervention reductions.

CONCLUSION

Overall, resilience interventions are associated with improvements in stress-related health outcomes in patients with cancer. However, substantial heterogeneity in intervention content, delivery, and outcome reporting across studies precluded quantitative synthesis. Future research should prioritize developing standardized resilience intervention programs and conducting methodologically rigorous randomized controlled trials to validate the practical benefits of resilience interventions in nursing practice.