The Effects of Expressive Writing Interventions for Patients With Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Purpose/Objectives: To evaluate the effects of expressive writing (EW) interventions in patients with cancer.

Data Sources: Electronic databases searched included both international and Korean databases through January 2015.

Data Synthesis: Of the 20 trials that met the eligibility criteria of this review, a meta-analysis was conducted of 14 articles involving 13 randomized and 1 nonrandomized trials with 1,718 patients with cancer. EW interventions were compared with a neutral writing intervention or usual care (no writing). A significant small effect was noted on relieving cancer symptoms; however, the effects on psychological and cognitive outcomes were not significant. When subgroup analysis by control condition was performed, a significant effect on health-related quality of life was found between the EW intervention group and the usual care group.

Conclusions: EW had significant small effects only on cancer symptoms. The findings suggest that the traditional EW intervention protocol may need to be intensified to confirm its effect on patients with cancer.