Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40627635›Full record

ArticlePloS one2025

Patient education for older adults with cancer and their caregivers: Protocol for a scoping review.

Lu Lin, Janet Papadakos, Rouhi Fazelzad, Kristen Haase, Shabbir Alibhai, Fay Bennie, Martine Puts

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Roy adaptation model-based patient education for elderly patients undergoing laparoscopic radical gastrectomy.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Trial
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

7 authors.

Lu LinThe First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
Janet PapadakosThe Centre for Patient Education, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Rouhi FazelzadLibrary and Information Services, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Kristen HaaseSchool of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Shabbir AlibhaiDepartment of Supportive Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, and Faculty of Medicine and Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Fay BennieOlder adult team member, Dunsford, Ontario, Canada.
Martine PutsLawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto and Department of Supportive Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0710-1854

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Treatment decision-making for older adults is complex due to multimorbidity, polypharmacy, and age-related changes such as sensory impairment and cognitive decline. In addition, many older adults have lower health literacy, which impacts their ability to access, understand, and apply health information. Patient education plays a critical role to comprehend a new cancer diagnosis, explore treatment options, and manage care effectively. To be effective, education materials must be specifically tailored to the needs of this population. Despite growing recognition of the importance of geriatric-specific cancer education, no recent review has synthesized the literature on educational interventions or materials developed for this population. This review aims to answer the question: What is known about patient education interventions and materials developed for older adults with cancer and their caregivers and their effectiveness to improve outcomes?. We will follow the Arksey and O'Malley framework, refined by Levac et al., and report according to the PRISMA-ScR checklist. We will search Medline ALL, Embase, Emcare, Cochrane Central, PsycInfo (all via OvidSP), and Scopus (via Elsevier) for studies published from 2000 onward and complete a manual search of the references of included studies. A health sciences librarian conducted the searches. We will include peer-reviewed and relevant grey literature. Stakeholder consultation will be conducted to inform interpretation of findings and identify gaps. Eligible studies will use qualitative or quantitative designs focused on geriatric oncology patient education. Two reviewers will independently screen studies and extract data using Covidence and Excel. Data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and narrative synthesis. The quality of peer-reviewed studies will be appraised with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (2018) for descriptive purposes only. This scoping review will map existing educational interventions and materials for older adults with cancer, support clinicians in practice, and highlight gaps to inform future research and development.

Indexed as

CaregiversNeoplasmsPatient Education as TopicAgedHealth LiteracyHumansScoping Reviews as Topic

Identifiers

PMID40627635
PMCPMC12237015

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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.