JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background Body image distress (BID) is a significant psychological issue for patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) and arises from the visible disfigurements and functional impairments often associated with the disease and its treatment. Understanding the factors contributing to body image distress in this population is crucial for developing effective interventions and support mechanisms. Purpose This systematic review outlines methods for identifying, evaluating, and synthesizing the available evidence on factors associated with BID among patients with HNC. This review intends to explore both clinical and psychosocial variables that may influence body image perceptions and the resulting psychological impact. Methods This review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Reviewer's Manual for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EBSCOhost CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases were searched for relevant studies from inception to December 2024. All in-depth quantitative analyses, descriptive observational studies, experimental studies, and quasiexperiments published in English or Chinese were analyzed and described. Studies examining factors associated with body image distress in HNC patients were included. The population, intervention, control, and outcome (PICO) format was used to develop the search strategy. For different databases, search terms will be combined using Boolean operators. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool was used to evaluate bias risk in the included studies. The extracted data will include basic study information, research design, sample characteristics, BID measurement tools, primary outcomes, statistical analysis methods, and quality assessment results. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses will be performed on different therapies, treatment stages, genders, ages, cultural backgrounds, etc. I2 statistics will be used to evaluate heterogeneity, and funnel plots will address publication bias. If we detected significant heterogeneity, the findings were reported as a systematic review without a meta-analysis.