The experience and supportive care needs in people affected by ovarian cancer and their informal caregivers: a qualitative systematic review

TL;DR

This review explores the supportive care needs of ovarian cancer patients and their caregivers, highlighting gaps in awareness, communication, and ongoing support.

Contribution

A qualitative synthesis of 26 studies to identify key areas for improving supportive care for ovarian cancer patients and caregivers.

Findings

Awareness of ovarian cancer signs and symptoms is lacking among patients and caregivers.

Communication between healthcare providers and patients is often inadequate.

Support needs persist throughout the cancer journey, from diagnosis to post-treatment.

Abstract

To critically synthesise qualitative research to understand the experiences of supportive care needs in people affected by ovarian cancer and their informal caregivers.

A qualitative systematic review has been reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The Joanna Briggs meta-aggregation methodology was utilised. Electronic databases were searched for all qualitative studies irrespective of research design by an expert systematic review librarian. Data extraction and methodological quality assessment were performed.

A total of 26 studies were included which represented a total sample of 962 participants inclusive of 842 patients and 120 informal caregivers. There were a total of 133 individual findings included in this review, which were synthesised into four main findings that emerged: (1) awareness around ovarian cancer, (2) communication in the healthcare sector, (3) everything that comes with the disease, (4) what the future holds.

This review identified that while some women living with ovarian cancer experienced suffering and distress, others reported emotional wellbeing and comfort needs met. There were gaps in service from both the informal caregiver and women ranging from before diagnosis even to post-treatment and beyond. Service redesign needs to occur with a focus on (1) improved awareness around ovarian cancer signs and symptoms, (2) effective communication strategies within and across healthcare providers, (3) increased information and support for both women and their informal caregiver throughout the cancer trajectory, and (4) developing survivorship care plans to promote wellness.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00520-026-10542-z.

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