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Narrative medicine interventions for oncology clinicians: a systematic review

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Abstract

Purpose

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.

Methods

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.

Results

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.

Conclusion

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.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: CRD42022369432

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Data availability

The review protocol can be accessed on the Prospero registry. No amendments were made to information provided in the protocol. Template data collection forms, data extracted from included studies, data used for all analyses, and analytic code are all provided in this manuscript.

Abbreviations

MeSH :

Medical Subject Headings

MMAT :

McGill Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool

PICOTS :

Patient population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome, Timing, Setting

PRISMA :

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

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Funding

This work is supported in part by ALSAC. Additionally, Dr. Kaye receives salary support from the National Cancer Institute (K08CA266935).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oncology, Division of Quality of Life and Palliative Care, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Mail Stop 260, Memphis, TN, USA

    Trisha K. Paul, Alexandra Superdock, Jordan Wrigley & Erica C. Kaye

  2. Kakatiya Medical College, Warangal, Telangana, India

    Yashaswi Reddy

  3. George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA

    Anthara Gnanakumar

  4. University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA

    Rebecca England

  5. Rochester General Hospital, Rochester, NY, USA

    Dhatri Malipeddi

  6. Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Erin Reardon

  7. University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA

    Meaghann S. Weaver

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Contributions

TP, YR, AG, RE, AS, and DM performed systematic review. JW and ER created systematic review search with TP. EK and MW reviewed PRISMA protocol and systematic review findings, and assisted with drafting manuscript. TP created all tables and RE created Fig. 2. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Trisha K. Paul.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Précis

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

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Paul, T.K., Reddy, Y., Gnanakumar, A. et al. Narrative medicine interventions for oncology clinicians: a systematic review. Support Care Cancer 32, 241 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-024-08434-1

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