Symptom experience in patients with cancer-related fatigue: A systematic review and meta-synthesis

Abstract

To understand the real experiences of patients with cancer-related fatigue and to promote quality of life, the researchers used computer searches of PubMed, EMbase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Biology Medicine disc, Wanfang Data, China Science and Technology Journal Database for relevant qualitative studies from the inception to November 1, 2021. The results showed that a total of 16 papers were included, and 57 outcomes were distilled into 9 categories, which were pooled into four integrated outcomes, such as somatic, psychological and social support and so on. It is concluded that patients with cancer-related fatigue are not only in the midst of multidimensional, unspeakable somatic experiences, and complex psychological experiences, they are also hindered in coping with fatigue symptom and social life. Therefore, healthcare professionals should provide health interventions and psychological support to those patients whenever possible.