Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36977804›Full record

SynthesisSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2023

Correlates of illness uncertainty in cancer survivors and family caregivers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Ting Guan, Mimi V Chapman, Lisa de Saxe Zerden, Anjalee Sharma, Ding-Geng Chen, Lixin Song

Open access · greenAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed
7.8field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

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  9. Acceptance in Patients With Cancer: A Scoping Review.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Ting GuanSyracuse University, School of Social Work, 226 White Hall, Syracuse, Syracuse, NY, 13244, USA. tguan02@syr.edu.
Mimi V ChapmanUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Social Work, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Lisa de Saxe ZerdenUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Social Work, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Anjalee SharmaSchool of Medicine Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Ding-Geng ChenCollege of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
Lixin SongUT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing, San Antonio, TX, USA.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · USJohns Hopkins Medicine · USSyracuse University · USThe University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio · USUniversity of Pretoria · ZA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeIllness uncertainty is widely recognized as a psychosocial stressor for cancer survivors and their family caregivers. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to identify the sociodemographic, physical, and psychosocial correlates that are associated with illness uncertainty in adult cancer survivors and their family caregivers.

methodsSix scholarly databases were searched. Data synthesis was based on Mishel's Uncertainty in Illness Theory. Person's r was used as the effect size metric in the meta-analysis. Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies.

resultsOf 1116 articles, 21 articles met the inclusion criteria. Of 21 reviewed studies, 18 focused on cancer survivors, one focused on family caregivers, and 2 included survivors and family caregivers. Findings identified distinct correlates for illness uncertainty in cancer survivors, including sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, gender, race), stimuli frame (e.g., symptom, family history of cancer), structure providers (e.g., education), coping, and adaptation. Notable effect sizes were observed in the correlations between illness uncertainty and social support, quality of life, depression, and anxiety. Caregivers' illness uncertainty was associated with their race, general health, perception of influence, social support, quality of life, and survivors' prostate-specific antigen levels. Insufficient data precluded examining effect size of correlates of illness uncertainty among family caregivers.

conclusionThis is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize the literature on illness uncertainty among adult cancer survivors and family caregivers. Findings contribute to the growing literature on managing illness uncertainty among cancer survivors and family caregivers.

Indexed as

Cancer SurvivorsNeoplasmsAdultCaregiversCross-Sectional StudiesHumansMaleQuality of LifeUncertaintyCancer survivorsFamily caregiverIllness uncertaintyMeta-analysisQuality of lifeSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID36977804
OpenAlexW4361224456

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.