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Communication between mothers with breast cancer and minor children: a qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis

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Abstract

Purpose

Both women with breast cancer and their minor children were affected by a breast cancer diagnosis. The purpose of this review was to synthesize the evidence from qualitative studies on illness-related communication between mothers with breast cancer and their minor children from mothers’ perspectives.

Methods

A thorough systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies was conducted. English articles published prior to 6 November 2021 were searched from five databases, including PubMed/ MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. After screening the titles, abstracts, and full texts, seven articles were finally included in the quality appraisal and meta-aggregation.

Results

Four synthesized findings were derived from seven articles, including disclosure dilemma, factors impacting disclosure, methods of communication, and information needs.

Conclusions

This systematic review offered insight into the communication between mothers with breast cancer and their minor children. Various factors influenced the decision-making process on illness-related disclosure, as well as the methods and contents of the communication. Future studies should be undertaken to explore the common model shared by mothers and children who have had comparable experiences, as well as to completely analyze the differences between different cultures in this topic.

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Data availability

The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

The study was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (81903179), Shanghai Municipal Health Commission (20184Y0201), and Shanghai Anticancer Association EYAS PROJECT (SACA-CY1B04).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, Fudan University, 305 Fenglin Road, Shanghai, 200032, China

    Junwen Yu & Xiaoyan Huang

  2. Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China

    Jiajia Qiu

  3. Obstetrics & Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China

    Mingdi Zhang

Authors
  1. Junwen Yu
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  2. Xiaoyan Huang
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  3. Jiajia Qiu
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  4. Mingdi Zhang
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Contributions

Junwen Yu: (1) conception and design of the study, (2) collection and appraisal of data, analysis of data, (3) manuscript writing.

Xiaoyan Huang: (1) collection and appraisal of data, analysis of data, (2) study supervision, (3) critical revisions.

Jiajia Qiu and Mingdi Zhang: (1) analysis of data, (2) revising the article.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaoyan Huang.

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Yu, J., Huang, X., Qiu, J. et al. Communication between mothers with breast cancer and minor children: a qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis. Support Care Cancer 31, 169 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-023-07630-9

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