Effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy on cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim The aim of this study was to review and meta-analyze the effectiveness of a nursing intervention based on solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) in improving anxiety, depression, cancer-related fatigue, and quality of life in cancer patients. Methods Conducting a systematic evaluation and meta-analysis following the PRISMA guidelines, we performed a thorough search across various databases including Cochrane, PubMed, CINAHL, PsycInfo, EMBASE, CNKI, Wanfang Database, and VIP Database. The search was conducted from the inception of each database up to February 2024. The overall effect size of the intervention was determined by calculating the standardized mean difference (SMD) and its 95% confidence interval. Statistical analyses were conducted using Review Manager (RevMan) 5.4.1. Results 13 studies meeting the selection criteria were included, encompassing a total of 1146 patients in the final analysis. 8 research examined the impact on anxiety, 10 on depression, 6 on cancer-related fatigue, and 5 on quality of life. The standardized mean difference for anxiety was –1.52 (CI: –2.20 ∼ –0.84, p < 0.0001), depression was –1.54 (CI: –2.09 ∼ –1.00, p < 0.00001), cancer-related fatigue was –2.19 (CI: –3.33 ∼ –1.05, p = 0.0002), and quality of life status was 2.18 (CI: 0.73 ∼ 3.62, p = 0.003). The overall certainty of the evidence was rated low due to limitations such as lack of allocation concealment, blinding, lack of clinical trial registration for the majority of studies, and high risk of bias in several areas. Conclusion SFBT may be effective in reducing anxiety, depression, cancer-related fatigue and improving quality of life in cancer patients. However, due to the limitations of the original study, including a high risk of bias and significant heterogeneity, although the research results are encouraging, the overall quality of existing evidence is low, so we cannot draw clear conclusions. More robust research designs are needed to accurately evaluate the effects of this treatment.