SynthesisBMC psychology2025
Psychological distress among cancer patients in African countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis study.
Synthesis in BMC psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 4 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Emotion Regulation Interventions for Cancer Patients and Their Relatives: A Systematic Review.Cancer medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Global prevalence and biopsychosocial correlates of psychological distress among people living with HIV: an updated theory-informed meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Long-term survival and successful pregnancy in a Nigerian woman with concurrent diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and chronic myeloid leukemia: a case report.Journal of medical case reports · 2026Article
- Caregivers' and healthcare providers' perceptions of blood availability, safety, and acceptability for patients with cancer in southwestern Uganda.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCancer is a disease causing abnormal cell proliferation, and can cause stress, anxiety, and emotional reactions in patients. Despite studies in Africa showing psychological distress in cancer patients, a systematic review on this topic has not yet been conducted.
methodsTo find papers, searches were conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, African Journal Online, and Google Scholar. This systematic review and meta-analysis encompassed fifteen primary articles from seven African countries that underwent assessment and inclusion. A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet was used to extract the data, which were then transferred to STATA version 14 for analysis. The statistical heterogeneity was evaluated by using Cochran's Q and I
resultThis systematic review and meta-analysis comprised a total of 1567 research participants from 15 different investigations. In Africa, 42.83% of cancer patients overall had a pooled prevalence of psychological distress (95% CI: 19.40, 66.27). Being a rural area (AOR = 2.30; 95% CI: 1.49 to 3.55), having no social support (AOR = 4.63; 95% CI: 2.18 to 9.86), being in stage II cancer (AOR = 2.72; 95% CI: 1.38 to 5.38), having a co-occurring chronic illness (AOR = 2.78; 95% CI: 1.34, 5.74), experiencing financial difficulties (AOR = 16.52; 3.56, 76.63), and experiencing difficult emotional life (AOR = 2.53; 1.07, 5.97) were associated with psychological distress.
conclusionThis study shows that there is a high prevalence of psychological distress among cancer patients in Africa. We have also found a significant relationship between psychological distress and rural living, a lack of social support, an advanced stage of the disease, coexisting medical conditions, financial problems, and emotional difficulties. Early detection to lessen psychological discomfort in this susceptible population is essential to reduce the burden of psychological distress among cancer patients.
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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.