Table 1.
Main characteristics of included studies.
| Author | Country | Aim | Study design | Results | Kmet et al. score (2004) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bober et al. (2015) | United States of America | To promote interventions of sexual health education with mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for women with BRCA1/2 mutations who previously underwent RRSO. | A cross-sectional study | All the participants reported to have acquired new skills, women were satisfied, felt less isolated and put into practice at least one of the new strategies learned. | 95% |
| Clarke et al. (2008) | Canada | To examine the experiences of BRCA1/2 carriers in communicating genetic information to their offspring. | A qualitative study using thematic analysis | Complexity around the disclosure of genetic information emerged, the ethical dilemmas, emotional consequence about telling or not telling where deeply analysed. | 80% |
| Esplen et al. (2004) | Canada | To evaluate whether a supportive-expressive group therapy for women with a BRCA1/2 mutation can help them to cope with their status. | Longitudinal prospective study | Significant improvements were observed in cancer worries, anxiety, depression and in the decision-making process, four women at post-intervention measurement had undergone prophylactic oophorectomy and six prophylactic mastectomy. | 100% |
| Kwiatkowski et al. (2013) | France | To help young BRCA mutation carriers cope with difficult issues. | Prospective psycho educational cohort study | Several themes emerged concerning prophylactic surgery, fear about partners’ reaction to surgery, childbearing and cancer. An increase in quality of life and self-esteem during the follow-up year was reported. | 90% |
| Landsbergen et al. (2010a) | The Netherlands | To determine risk management preferences (between breast cancer surveillance and prophylactic mastectomy) and the effect of an educational-support group. | Cross-sectional study | Women with a preference for mastectomy who participated to a support group decided to undergo surgery in higher proportion than those who did not attend (89% versus 63% P = 0.04). Age between 30 and 50 was a predictor for mastectomy. Participants in educational support groups were less likely to opt for surveillance than non-participants. | 94,4% |
| Landsbergen et al. (2010b) | The Netherlands | To evaluate educational-support groups for women with a BRCA mutation. | Cross-sectional study | Participants declared that educational-support group supported their decision-making process regarding surveillance or prophylactic surgery. Conversely, intrafamilial communication decreased after group participation. | 85% |
| Listøl et al. (2017) | Norway | To characterise women attending a group-basedassess symptoms of anxiety and depression among the participants, and their changes after the course session. | Longitudinal prospective study | Anxiety levels decreased significantly during follow-up, satisfaction levels were high among participants, the majority of whom reported to have learned something new during the course. | 100% |
| Mendes et al. (2010) | Portugal | To examine a multi-family group intervention for women tested positive for a BRCA mutation and their relatives. | Qualitative study | Participants reported that one of the benefits of the multi-family discussion format was the sharing personal experiences, which prevented isolation and sense of inadequacy. Moreover, the integration of medical information was felt as very important. | 80% |
| McKinnon et al. (2007) | United States of America | To give information and support to the families with hereditary cancer syndromes. | Longitudinal prospective | The retreat helped in the decision-making process regarding genetic testing, and family communication. Lifestyle changes were observed, in particular increased cancer prevention and screening. | 94,4% |
| Myklebust et al. (2015) | United States of America | To explore and describe the experiences of female Brca1/2 carriers with the increased risk of cancer and their experience with educational support groups (ESG). | A qualitative study using thematic analysis. | Three main themes were identified: expectations and experience with ESG reported as positive, experience of loneliness and isolation, and the feelings of living with ‘something else’. Participants declared the need of clear and unified information. | 85% |
| Speice et al. (2002) | United States of America | To provide information and support to women with a BRCA mutation. | A qualitative study using thematic analysis. | Several themes emerged: distress about the transmission to children, dilemma about disclosure, different coping styles and decision making, conflict about testing and the experience of feeling coerced. | 45%a |
aThe study describes a family-oriented psychoeducation group accurately analysing intra-familial issues concerning genetic testing. Despite the score, also dependent on the standards of papers publication period, it has been included because of the strong contribution on the psychological aspects and on intrafamilial communication.