Effectiveness of interventions to improve psychological resilience in women diagnosed with breast cancer: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: This study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving the psychological resilience of women diagnosed with breast cancer and the effects of interventions on quality of life, anxiety, depression, stress, fatigue and sleep quality. Material and Methods: The study was conducted in a systematic review and meta-analysis design. Searches were made between August 2022 and February 2023 in EBSCO, MEDLINE, ProQuest Dissertation and Theses, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, TR Index and National Thesis Center databases, "breast cancer" "psychological resilience" "psychological hardiness" and "psychological robustness". The methodological quality of the studies was assessed with the Critical Evaluation Checklists developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Data were synthesized by meta-analysis. Results: Thirteen studies published between 2005 and 2022 were included in the study. The sample size of the studies is 1265. Six studies were of high quality and six of them were of medium quality. In the meta-analyses, it was determined that the interventions increased the mean scores of psychological resilience statistically significantly (SMD: 1,00; %95 CI: 0,70-1,31; z= 6.43; p<0,001). Results of the systematic review and meta-analysis revealed that the interventions significantly affected the mean scores of anxiety (SMD: -1,40; %95 CI: -2,33-0,48; z= 2.99; p=0,003), depression (SMD: -1,34; %95 CI: -2,09-0,60; z= 3.52; p<0,001), and fatigue (SMD: -0,63; %95 CI: -1,17-0,10; z= 2.34; p=0,02). Conclusion: In this study, it was concluded that interventions for women diagnosed with breast cancer increased the level of psychological resilience and decreased anxiety, depression, and fatigue. It was determined that the interventions did not have a significant effect on quality of life, stress, and sleep quality.