What is “Coaching” in Interventions for Patients in Cancer Care Research? A Systematic Scoping Review

Objective: Cancer has an impact on psychosocial well-being as well as on mental health. Coaching increasingly appears as a source of psychosocial support to cancer patients. However, we currently lack a clear framework for coaching in that context. The present review aims to better define the concept of coaching in interventions for patients in cancer care research, as well as to synthesize frameworks, techniques, and providers.

Methods: A conceptual scoping review based on PRISMA was performed on studies focusing on coaching and cancer published in peer-reviewed journals until November 2024. Studies on coaching and cancer were systematically extracted from five online databases and then screened.

Results: A total of 237 studies were included after screening. Less than 15% of the studies provided an explicit definition of coaching. Six coaching categories were identified based on their goal, in addition to a general form of coaching. Coaching in cancer care occurs during the acute treatment phase as well as during the posttreatment phase. Most providers were healthcare professionals, despite an important heterogeneity. Techniques were sorted into 9 sets of techniques implemented in coaching interventions, including goal setting, providing support, and self-regulation.

Conclusions: This review provided structure to the field of coaching in cancer. It also showed that defining a field only on the word “coaching” does not appear sufficient to reflect the current heterogeneity. Consequently, there is a necessity for the field to clarify its theoretical frameworks, targets, and intervention components to increase the necessary reproducibility and cumulative knowledge.