The Effectiveness of Death Education on Death Anxiety, Depression, and Quality of Life in Patients With Advanced Cancer: A Meta‐Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials

作者：Yawen Su, Shu Zhang, Liyang Duan, Xiaolin Hu · 发表于：Journal of Nursing Scholarship · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1111/jnu.70037 · 被引用次数：23 · 研究领域：Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues、Cancer survivorship and care、Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion

BACKGROUND: Patients with advanced cancer can suffer from serious distress like death anxiety and depression, in addition to facing a reduced quality of life. Death education interventions have been shown to improve these outcomes, but their effectiveness remains unclear, especially in the advanced stages. OBJECTIVE: This meta-analysis aimed to examine the efficacy of death education interventions on death anxiety, depression, and quality of life in advanced cancer sufferers, and to explore the influence of the intervention site, duration, the age of participants, and dyadic relationships with caregivers on the effectiveness of these interventions. DESIGN: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was performed. METHODS: A systematic search of 10 electronic databases identified 19 eligible RCTs with 1531 participants. Data were extracted and analyzed via Review Manager 5.4. Subgroup analyses were performed on the basis of the intervention site, duration, age of participants, and presence of caregivers. RESULTS: In comparison to the control intervention, the death education intervention notably alleviated death anxiety (SMD = -2.11, 95% CI: -5.91 to -0.89, p = 0.008) and depression (SMD = -0.45, 95% CI: -0.72 to -0.18, p = 0.001). Quality of life (SMD = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.39-1.33, p = 0.0003) was also significantly improved. Subgroup analyses revealed that interventions with longer durations, conducted in professional settings, and targeting younger patients were more likel...