Background: Gynecological pre-cancer and gynecological cancers are considerable diseases in women throughout\nthe world. The disease and treatment lead to numerous biopsychosocial issues. To improve the outcomes of\naffected women, several counseling interventions have been tested thus far in nursing research. These interventions\ntarget different endpoints and are composed of various structural and content components. The purpose of this research\nwas to systematically review the effectiveness of nurse counseling on any patient outcomes tested so far in gynecologic\noncology before, during and after treatment and to explore structure and content components.\nMethods: Experimental, quasi-experimental, and pre-experimental studies assessing the effectiveness of nurse counseling\nin women with gynecological neoplasia were searched for in PubMed�®, CINAHL�®, PsychINFO�®, Cochrane�®, and EMBASE�®.\nReference lists were hand-searched and relevant authors were contacted. Moreover, the evidence level and\nmethodological quality of the included studies were assessed. Afterwards, the effect of nurse counseling on\neach identified patient outcome was narratively analyzed. To identify the structural and content components\nof the included interventions, a structured content analysis was performed. Finally, it was determined which\ncomponents were associated with favorable outcomes within the included studies.\nResults: Seven experimental and three pre-experimental studies, reporting the effects of 11 interventions on a\ntotal of 588 participants, were eligible. No study investigated women with pre-cancer. Three studies had a high,\nfive a moderate, and two a low methodological quality. Positive effects were found on quality of life, symptoms, and\nhealthcare utilization. Eight structural components and four content components composed of various sub-components\nwere identified and linked to specific effects.\nConclusions: The current evidence base is fragmented and inconsistent. More well-designed, large-scale\nstudies including women with pre-cancer are warranted. Most convincing evidence indicates that nurse\ncounseling can improve symptom distress. Components associated with the most trustworthy effects include nurses with\nan academic education; repeated and individual consultations during and after active treatment; structured, tailored,\ninterdisciplinary orientated, and theoretically based counseling concepts; specific materials; comprehensive symptom\nmanagement; and utilization of healthcare services. Healthcare providers and researchers can use the findings of this\nreview for the systematic development of nurse counseling in gynecologic oncology.
Loading....