Narrative medicine interventions for oncology clinicians: a systematic review

As narrative medicine interventions are integrated increasingly into medical practice, growing evidence indicates benefits for healthcare professionals. Presently, the prevalence and impact of narrative medicine interventions in the field of oncology remain unknown. This systematic review synthesizes published data on narrative medicine interventions in oncology and reports current knowledge on feasibility, acceptability, and impact on cancer care professionals.

Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched Ovid Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases from inception through February 2024. Eligible articles were published in English and contained original data on feasibility, acceptability, and/or impact of a narrative medicine intervention for oncology professionals. Database searches identified 2614 deduplicated articles, from which 50 articles were identified for full-text assessment and 11 articles met inclusion criteria. Two additional articles were identified through manual review of references.

Thirteen articles described 12 unique narrative medicine interventions targeting cancer care professionals. All studies described their respective interventions as feasible, acceptable, and impactful for participants. Interventions involved writing, reading, reflection, and other narrative-based strategies. Standardized validated tools evaluated outcomes including burnout, empathy expression, secondary trauma, quality of humanistic care, and well-being. Participants reported appreciation of opportunities for reflection, perspective sharing, and bearing witness, which they perceived to strengthen wellness and community.

Narrative medicine interventions are feasible and acceptable and may bolster oncology clinicians' functioning across domains. Multi-site, prospective, randomized studies are needed to investigate the broader impact of narrative medicine interventions and advance the science of narrative medicine in oncology.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: CRD42022369432.