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Journey towards resiliency: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of cancer patients' experiences
Xiu Wen Khok1, Wai Hung Daniel Ng2, Ang Yun Lee3
1Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Purpose:
This systematic review and meta-synthesis seeks to explore cancer patients' journey towards resiliency. The secondary aim of this review is to identify unique resilience protective factors among cancer patients.
Methods:
A thorough search was conducted in eight electronic databases and the grey literature for published or unpublished qualitative and mixed methods studies. Studies that explored resilience among cancer patients were included. The studies were appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skill Programme Checklist. The overall certainty of evidence was further evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation's Confidence in Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative Research. Themes identified were synthesized using Sandelowski and Barroso's meta-synthesis method.
Results:
A total of 34 studies comprising 987 cancer patients were included in this review. Three themes and nine subthemes were generated from the meta-synthesis. The themes were: (1) Confronting the cancer diagnosis, (2) personal adaptations to cancer, and (3) drawing strength from others. The findings highlighted how individuals overcame cancer adversities through resilience, which is influenced by various factors, including life experiences, social-cultural stigmas, spirituality, social support networks, coping strategies, motivation, acceptance of illness, positive mindset, and engagement with healthcare facilities.
Conclusions:
This review highlights the role of resilience in a cancer patient's journey. It emphasizes on the importance of building resilience in both cancer patients and survivors to effectively overcome the challenges of their cancer diagnosis. These insights are essential for developing interventions that promote resilience and improve existing psychosocial oncology services. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies to better understand how resilience evolves and pinpoint factors that can further influence one's resilience.
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