A Review of Psychoeducational Interventions to Improve Sexual Functioning, Quality of Life, and Psychological Outcomes in Gynecological Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND: Psychoeducational interventions are recommended for use with clinical gynecological cancer patients to improve their patient care outcomes. However, the evidence of their effectiveness is far from conclusive. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to identify the best available research evidence related to the effects of psychoeducational interventions on sexual functioning, quality of life, and psychological outcomes in gynecological cancer patients. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted to identify English and Chinese articles from the inception of the databases to April 2012 and included 13 English databases and 7 Chinese databases. Gray literature or unpublished studies were also searched. RESULTS: A total of 11 studies involving 975 gynecological cancer patients were included in the review. Meta-analysis results for 4 comparable studies indicated that psychoeducational interventions were effective in treating depressive symptoms among gynecological cancer patients (standardized mean difference = -0.80; 95% confidence interval, -1.05 to -0.54), whereas information provision significantly improved the mental aspect of quality of life (standardized mean difference = -0.41; 95% confidence interval, -0.74 to -0.08). With regard to sexual functioning, psychoeducational interventions appeared to have benefits in improving the sexual life of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Findings confirm the effectiveness of psychoeducational interventions on depressive symptoms and mental aspect of the quality of life in gynecological cancer patients. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The authors discuss the implications of review findings for the effective design of psychoeducational interventions including components, provider, provision time frame, and duration for clinical practice, as well as psychoeducational intervention research.

A feasibility study of a psychoeducational intervention program for gynecological cancer patients.

PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH: This study aimed to test the feasibility of implementing a psychoeducational intervention program for gynecological cancer patients. METHODS AND SAMPLE: A single-blinded randomized controlled trial and mixed-method design were used. Study subjects were newly diagnosed gynecological cancer patients with surgery as the first-line treatment. They were randomly assigned to the intervention group, in which a psychoeducational intervention program based on a thematic counseling model was offered, or to the attention control group. Quantitative data on sexual functioning, quality of life, uncertainty, anxiety, depression and social support were collected at recruitment, post-operative and during the in-hospital period, and eight weeks after the operation. Participants in the intervention group and three nurses working in the clinical setting were invited to have semi-structured interviews. KEY RESULTS: Of the 30 eligible subjects, 26 were successfully recruited into the study. Following the psychoeducational intervention program, there was significant improvement in the level of inconsistent information about the illness within the category of uncertainty among participants in the intervention group. In addition, trends towards improvement were demonstrated in quality of life, uncertainty, depression and perceived social support with the provision of the interventions. Qualitative data indicated the interventions were desired and appreciated by the participants, as well as being feasible and practical to implement in Hong Kong clinical settings. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that it is feasible to deliver the psychoeducational intervention program and it may have beneficial effects in gynecological cancer patients. A full-scale study is warranted to confirm the results.