Supportive care interventions for cancer patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): a scoping review

• Published in: Supportive care in cancer Vol. 30; no. 11; pp. 9483 - 9496
• Main Authors: Cabanes, Anna, Taylor, Carolyn, Malburg, Carly, Le, Phuong Thao D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.11.2022; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Cancer; Cancer patients; Care and treatment; Continuity of care; Developing countries; Health care access; Health care reform; Health literacy; LDCs; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental health care; Nursing; Nursing Research; Oncology; Pain Medicine; Palliative care; Patient compliance; Patient education; Rehabilitation Medicine; Symptom management; Intervention; Low-and middle-income countries; Supportive care; Psychosocial support; Cancer
• ISSN: 0941-4355; 1433-7339
• DOI: 10.1007/s00520-022-07319-5

Purpose In high-income countries (HICs), supportive care is often used to assist cancer patients as they seek treatment and beyond. However, in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), where more than 70% of all cancer-related deaths occur [1], the provision of supportive care has not been assessed. The purpose of this scoping review is to assess the type of supportive care interventions for cancer patients across the cancer care continuum in LMICs. Methods We examined published articles reporting on supportive care interventions in LMICs. Following PRISMA guidelines, we performed a systematic search of PubMed, ERIC, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. We limited the scope to original research studies focused on LMICs, studies concerning any type of supportive care intervention for adult cancer patients, from diagnosis, treatment, and post-treatment. Results Thirty-five studies met the criteria for inclusion in the scoping review. The majority were randomized clinical trials (RCT) or used a quasi-experimental design. The highest number of studies ( n  = 23) was implemented in the WHO Eastern-Mediterranean region, followed by South-East Asia ( n  = 6), Africa ( n  = 4), and Western-Pacific Regions ( n  = 2). Most studies focused on women’s cancers and included interventions for psychosocial support, symptom management, health literacy/education, and patient navigation. Conclusions Although we found only a small number of interventions being conducted in these settings, our results suggest that providing different types of supportive services in less-resourced settings, even when health systems are fragmented and fragile, can improve mental health, physical health, and the quality of life (QoL) of cancer patients.