Expressive Writing Improves Psychological and Physical Health among Breast Cancer Survivors: A Review of Journal Articles

Background: The risk of distress can persist from the time of cancer diagnosis and extends beyond the completion of treatment. The use of expressive writing could help individuals to cope with the impact of diagnosis. By doing so, expressive writing may improve their psychological and physical health.
Objectives: The present review aimed at determining whether or not expressive writing enhances psychological and physical health among breast cancer survivors (BSC). It also aims to explore whether the type of writing prompt makes a difference in results findings.
Data Sources: Electronic bases (01/2004 to 03/2014) included PsychInfo, PubMed, MEDLINE and Google Scholars.
Eligible Studies: Published articles of expressive writing intervention (EWI) that report, as an outcome – health-care utilization, physical health status, psychological well-being, and quality of life among breast cancer survivors.
Results: The review included five articles that fulfilled the selection criteria. Expressive writing intervention was found to be associated with a range of benefits (e.g. improvement in health, reduction in psychological distress, satisfaction with social support, and better quality of life). Eligible participants were recruited from diverse settings, for instance, during hospital visits, from organization and in local community. The intensities and prompts used in EWI across studies varied considerably.
Conclusion: Among breast cancer survivors, expressive writing is associated with higher health status and improvement in psychological well-being. Instead of writing prompts, the choice of writing topics moderates the effectiveness of the intervention. Moderate quality evidence, this suggests more research is required to establish robust evidence.