Psychosocial interventions for families with minor children affected by parental cancer: An umbrella review.
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PURPOSE: Research on psychosocial interventions for families with minor children affected by parental cancer has expanded over recent decades; however, the evidence remains fragmented across multiple systematic reviews. This umbrella review aims to gather and synthesize the existing systematic reviews, with a particular focus on intervention characteristics, implementation, effectiveness, methodological limitations, and implications for future research and clinical practice. METHODS: A comprehensive search of CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, Epistemonikos, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews was conducted in September 2025, including gray literature. Eligible reviews were published between 1990 and 2025 in English, Portuguese, or Spanish and had full-text availability. Methodological quality was assessed using AMSTAR-2. The review was registered in PROSPERO (ID 1139397). RESULTS: Eight systematic reviews met inclusion criteria and were synthesized narratively due to substantial clinical and methodological heterogeneity. Across these reviews, 46 distinct psychosocial interventions were identified. Overall, interventions were associated with preliminary beneficial outcomes for children, adolescents, parents, and families, particularly in improving children's understanding of parental illness, enhancing family communication and functioning, strengthening parenting skills, and promoting psychological well-being. However, confidence in these findings was limited by the generally low methodological quality of the included reviews and the high overlap of primary studies. CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence suggests that psychosocial interventions may support families with minor children affected by parental cancer, but conclusions remain tentative due to methodological limitations. There is a clear need for the development and rigorous evaluation of developmentally and disease-stage-sensitive interventions, supported by high-quality research and institutional collaboration. Strengthening the evidence base in this area is essential to inform clinical practice, guide supportive care services, and support policy development in psycho-oncology.