Systematic review reveals complex psychosocial effects of therapeutic tattooing in cancer survivors, highlighting the need for standardized practices and informed decision-making.
Key Points
Synthesize existing qualitative and quantitative evidence on the psychosocial outcomes and lived experiences of cancer survivors who receive therapeutic tattoos.
Searched seven electronic databases (PsycINFO, Medline, CINAHL, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies.
Synthesized extracted qualitative and quantitative data using a convergent integrated thematic synthesis framework.
Included 16 studies (6 qualitative, 10 quantitative) comprising data from over 747 tattooed cancer survivors across diverse cancer types.
Identified six core psychosocial themes: fulfillment, wellbeing, feelings about one’s body, perceived design quality, processing feelings about cancer, and reconceptualized identities.
Demonstrated that therapeutic tattoos induce both positive and negative psychosocial outcomes, while noting significant limits in the depth and breadth of existing empirical evidence.