TY - JOUR
T1 - The support that partners or caregivers provide sexual minority women who have cancer
T2 - A systematic review
AU - Thompson, Tess
AU - Heiden-Rootes, Katie
AU - Joseph, Miriam
AU - Gilmore, L. Anne
AU - Johnson, La Shaune
AU - Proulx, Christine M.
AU - Albright, Emily L.
AU - Brown, Maria
AU - McElroy, Jane A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Dr. Thompson's time was supported in part by a Mentored Research Scholar Grant from the American Cancer Society ( MRSG-19-086-01-CPPB , PI: Thompson ). Dr. Gilmore's time was supported in part by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number KL2TR003097 . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the American Cancer Society. The funding sources played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the article; or in the decision to submit it for publication. The authors thank Rachel Moore and Elizabeth Capshaw at Saint Louis University for their assistance obtaining and sorting abstracts.
Funding Information:
Dr. Thompson's time was supported in part by a Mentored Research Scholar Grant from the American Cancer Society (MRSG-19-086-01-CPPB, PI: Thompson). Dr. Gilmore's time was supported in part by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number KL2TR003097. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the American Cancer Society. The funding sources played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the article; or in the decision to submit it for publication. The authors thank Rachel Moore and Elizabeth Capshaw at Saint Louis University for their assistance obtaining and sorting abstracts.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2020/9
Y1 - 2020/9
N2 - Rationale: Intimate partners and other informal caregivers provide unpaid tangible, emotional, and decision-making support for patients with cancer, but relatively little research has investigated the cancer experiences of sexual minority women (SMW) with cancer and their partners/caregivers. Objective: This review addressed 4 central questions: 1) What social support do SMW with cancer receive from partners/caregivers? 2) What effect does cancer have on intimate partnerships or caregiving relationships of SMW with cancer? 3) What effects does cancer have on partners/caregivers of SMW with cancer? 4) What interventions exist to support partners/caregivers of SMW or to strengthen the patient-caregiver relationship? Method: This systematic review, conducted in 2018 and updated in 2020, was based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Two independent coders screened abstracts and articles. Results: In total, 550 unique records were screened; 42 articles were assessed for eligibility, and 18 were included in a qualitative synthesis. Most studies were U.S.-based, involved breast cancer, included intimate partners, had primarily white/Caucasian samples, and were cross-sectional. Sexual minority female participants reported that partners/caregivers often provide important social support, including emotional support, decision-making support, and tangible support. Effects of cancer on relationships with partners/caregivers were mixed, with some studies finding relationships remained stable and others finding cancer either increased closeness or disrupted relationships. Participants reported partners/caregivers often experience distress and may experience discrimination, discomfort disclosing sexual orientation, and a lack of sexual minority-friendly services. No studies involved an intervention targeting partners/caregivers or the dyadic relationship. Conclusions: More work is needed to understand SMW with cancers other than breast cancer, and future work should include more racially, ethnically, and economically diverse samples. Longitudinal research will allow an examination of patterns of mutual influence and change in relationships. These steps will enable the development of interventions to support SMW with cancer and people close to them.
AB - Rationale: Intimate partners and other informal caregivers provide unpaid tangible, emotional, and decision-making support for patients with cancer, but relatively little research has investigated the cancer experiences of sexual minority women (SMW) with cancer and their partners/caregivers. Objective: This review addressed 4 central questions: 1) What social support do SMW with cancer receive from partners/caregivers? 2) What effect does cancer have on intimate partnerships or caregiving relationships of SMW with cancer? 3) What effects does cancer have on partners/caregivers of SMW with cancer? 4) What interventions exist to support partners/caregivers of SMW or to strengthen the patient-caregiver relationship? Method: This systematic review, conducted in 2018 and updated in 2020, was based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Two independent coders screened abstracts and articles. Results: In total, 550 unique records were screened; 42 articles were assessed for eligibility, and 18 were included in a qualitative synthesis. Most studies were U.S.-based, involved breast cancer, included intimate partners, had primarily white/Caucasian samples, and were cross-sectional. Sexual minority female participants reported that partners/caregivers often provide important social support, including emotional support, decision-making support, and tangible support. Effects of cancer on relationships with partners/caregivers were mixed, with some studies finding relationships remained stable and others finding cancer either increased closeness or disrupted relationships. Participants reported partners/caregivers often experience distress and may experience discrimination, discomfort disclosing sexual orientation, and a lack of sexual minority-friendly services. No studies involved an intervention targeting partners/caregivers or the dyadic relationship. Conclusions: More work is needed to understand SMW with cancers other than breast cancer, and future work should include more racially, ethnically, and economically diverse samples. Longitudinal research will allow an examination of patterns of mutual influence and change in relationships. These steps will enable the development of interventions to support SMW with cancer and people close to them.
KW - Cancer
KW - Cancer survivorship
KW - Caregiving
KW - Dyadic research
KW - Sexual minority women
KW - Systematic review
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U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113214
DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113214
M3 - Review article
C2 - 32738634
AN - SCOPUS:85088827460
SN - 0277-9536
VL - 261
JO - Social Science and Medicine
JF - Social Science and Medicine
M1 - 113214
ER -