Effectiveness of Dyadic Psychoeducational Intervention on Cancer Patients and Their Caregivers

Background Dyadic psychoeducational intervention targets the dyads of cancer patients and caregivers as active participants in partnership, which can potentially address the needs and challenges faced by patients with cancer and their caregivers. However, there is insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of the intervention on psychological health and illness-related outcomes among the dyads. Objective To systematically examine the dyadic psychoeducational intervention of cancer patients and their caregivers on psychological health and illness-related outcomes. Methods Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, and 4 Chinese databases were searched from inception to May 29, 2022. Two investigators independently extracted data and evaluated methodological quality. RevMan 5.4 was used for meta-analysis; heterogeneity was evaluated using Higgins’ I 2 (%). Standardized mean difference (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the effects. Results Eight randomized controlled trials that involved 1234 dyads were collected. Meta-analysis showed that the intervention was effective in reducing the dyadic depression (patients’ SMD, −0.41 [95% CI, −0.78 to −0.04; P = .03]; caregivers’ SMD, −0.70 [95% CI, −1.31 to −0.09; P = .03]). It also improved caregivers’ quality of life (SMD, −0.29 [95% CI, −0.56 to −0.03; P = .03]), whereas no significant effect was found on patients’ quality of life. Dyadic results including anxiety, self-efficacy, disease communication, and appraisals of illness/caregiving were observed. Conclusion Dyadic psychoeducational intervention reduced the dyadic depression. It also improved caregivers’ quality of life. Implications for Practice Nurses can apply dyadic psychoeducational intervention in clinical practice. More studies are needed to draw higher-quality conclusions and investigate the effects on psychological health and illness-related outcomes in cancer patients and caregivers.