A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of the Effects of Couple‐Based Dyadic Intervention on the Psychological Distress of Cancer Patients and Their Partners

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: To explore the effectiveness of dyadic intervention on the psychological distress of cancer patients and their partners. BACKGROUND: Cancer patients and their partners demonstrated high levels of psychological distress. However, the effects of dyadic intervention on psychological distress were unclear. DESIGN: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials was reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Statement. METHODS: A systematic search on couple-based dyadic intervention for cancer patients and their partners was carried out across eight databases. Our review adhered to the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool as its foundational framework, and data extraction and analysis followed standardised checklists for quantitative research studies. RESULTS: No statistically significant effects were reported on patients' anxiety, depressive symptoms, or cancer-related distress. However, subgroup analysis revealed that interventions lasting 6 or 12 weeks had positive effects on patients' cancer-related distress. Significant reductions in cancer-related distress scores were only observed when interventions included communication and support (CS) and skill building (SB) components, however. Additionally, patients experienced higher distress levels with less than six interventions or session durations shorter than 6 h. For partners, couple-based dyadic interventions significantly reduced their anxiety and depressive symptom levels. CONCLUSIONS: Couple-based dyadic interventions, with either 6- or 12-week durations, or encompassing both CS and SB components, demonstrated significantly positive effectiveness on patients' psychological distress. Couple-based dyadic interventions also exhibited a propensity for alleviating psychological distress in both cancer patients and their partners, with a more pronounced impact observed among partners. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This meta-analysis highlights the effectiveness of dyadic interventions in reducing psychological distress in cancer patients and their partners. Healthcare professionals should incorporate these interventions into their care practices. NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Direct contributions from patients or the public were not included in this review. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO number: CRD42023418978; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=418978.