SynthesisJournal of cancer survivorship : research and practice2019
Unpacking the layers: a meta-ethnography of cancer survivors' loneliness.
Synthesis in Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Adolescent Loneliness When a Parent Has Cancer: A Qualitative Systematic Review.Psycho-oncology · 2025Pooled it
- Hiding in plain sight: Cooperative Extension as an underutilized approach to improving cancer survivorship outcomes in underserved populations.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2026Article
- "I just feel alone and by myself": how adolescents experience loneliness when their parent has cancer.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Employed cancer survivors develop a peer-support intervention to improve social connections: a participatory design study.Frontiers in aging · 2026Article
- Remote group intervention for adults with cancer-related cognitive impairment: a feasibility study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Adaptation to colorectal cancer and ostomy: Psychological flexibility mitigates loneliness associated with social withdrawal.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Companionship and Sharing Create Social Connections of an Online Community-Based Intervention for Patients with Cancer Receiving Outpatient Care: Pilot Study.JMIR cancer · 2025Article
- Navigating the shadow of fear: a qualitative study unveiling the lived experience of fear of cancer recurrence among Chinese gastric cancer survivors undergoing chemotherapy.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Prevalence of loneliness and associations with health behaviours and body mass index in 5835 people living with and beyond cancer: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Extending the concept of total pain to cancer survivorship.Frontiers in sociology · 2024Article
- Explaining how and why social support groups in hospice day services benefit palliative care patients, for whom, and in what circumstances.Palliative care and social practice · 2023Article
- A survey of hospice day services in the United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland : how did hospices offer social support to palliative care patients, pre-pandemic?BMC palliative care · 2022Review
- Loneliness and Psychological Distress in Women Diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer: Examining the Role of Self-Perceived Burden, Social Support Seeking, and Social Network Diversity.Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings · 2022Article
- Social isolation in adults with cancer: An evolutionary concept analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Review
- The Experiential Learning Pathway of Cancer Survivors as They Recover Their Lives Post-Treatment: A Qualitative Study.Global qualitative nursing researchArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo review the empirical qualitative literature on cancer survivor's experiences with loneliness to inform assessments and interventions for improving cancer survivors' social well-being.
methodsA rigorous systematic review of qualitative studies published in five databases between 1993 and 2016 was conducted. Three coders reviewed 285 titles and abstracts and, after applying a critical review process, 20 manuscripts were synthesized using meta-ethnography.
resultsThe synthesis of the 20 studies provided a framework for understanding survivors' layers of loneliness at the level of the individual, their social support system, the healthcare system, and society. Internally, survivors described loneliness resulting from feelings of inauthenticity, of being alone in their cancer experience, and of lack of control. In their social networks, survivors attributed loneliness to others' avoidance, misperceptions of cancer, and others' failure to recognize the effects of cancer after active treatment. Unmet needs after treatment contributed to feelings of loneliness within the healthcare system. Further, societal stigma around cancer and pressures to experience growth after cancer created another layer of loneliness. The results suggest the need to move beyond an individual level perspective in assessing and treating loneliness in cancer survivors.
conclusionsThis meta-ethnography presents an integrated framework of loneliness in cancer survivors as a multi-layered experience. Implications for Cancer Survivors Conceptualizing loneliness from a systemic perspective adds missing pieces to the loneliness puzzle by encouraging assessment and intervention at interacting levels of functioning; considering how individuals respond to and are affected by their social systems can deepen our understanding of cancer survivorship.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.