Supportive Care Interventions for People With Cancer Assisted by Digital Technology: Systematic Review.
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ABSTRACT: Background
Although relatively new, digital health interventions are demonstrating rapid growth because of their ability to facilitate access and overcome issues of location, time, health status, and most recently, the impact of a major pandemic. With the increased uptake of digital technologies, digital health has the potential to improve the provision of supportive cancer care.Objective
This systematic review aims to evaluate digital health interventions for supportive cancer care.Methods
Published literature between 2000 and 2020 was systematically searched in MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Scopus. Eligible publications were randomized controlled trials of clinician-led digital health interventions to support adult cancer patients. The interventions included were determined by applying a digital health conceptual model. Studies were appraised for quality using the revised Cochrane risk of bias tool.Results
Twenty randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria for the analysis. Interventions varied by duration, frequency, degree of technology use, and applied outcome measures. Interventions targeting a single tumor stream, predominantly breast cancer, and studies involving the implementation of remote symptom monitoring have dominated the results. In most studies, digital intervention resulted in significant positive outcomes in patient-reported symptoms, levels of fatigue and pain, health-related quality of life, functional capacity, and depression levels compared with the control.Conclusions
Digital health interventions are helpful and effective for supportive care of patients with cancer. There is a need for high-quality research. Future endeavors could focus on the use of valid, standardized outcome measures, maintenance of methodological rigor, and strategies to improve patient and health professional engagement in the design and delivery of supportive digital health interventions.Trial registration
PROSPERO CRD42020149730; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=149730.
SUBMITTER: Marthick M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8590193 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundThe US Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for and treating obesity. However, there are many barriers to successfully treating obesity in primary care (PC). Technology-assisted weight loss interventions offer novel ways of improving treatment, but trials are overwhelmingly conducted outside of PC and may not translate well into this setting. We conducted a systematic review of technology-assisted weight loss interventions specifically tested in PC settings.MethodsWe searched the literature from January 2000 to March 2014.Inclusion criteria(1) Randomized controlled trial; (2) trials that utilized the Internet, personal computer, and/or mobile device; and (3) occurred in an ambulatory PC setting. We applied the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care (EPOC) and Delphi criteria to assess bias and the Pragmatic-Explanatory Continuum Indicator Summary (PRECIS) criteria to assess pragmatism (whether trials occurred in the real world versus under ideal circumstances). Given heterogeneity, results were not pooled quantitatively.ResultsSixteen trials met inclusion criteria. Twelve (75 %) interventions achieved weight loss (range: 0.08 kg - 5.4 kg) compared to controls, while 5-45 % of patients lost at least 5 % of baseline weight. Trial duration and attrition ranged from 3-36 months and 6-80 %, respectively. Ten (63 %) studies reported results after at least 1 year of follow-up. Interventions used various forms of personnel, technology modalities, and behavior change elements; trials most frequently utilized medical doctors (MDs) (44 %), web-based applications (63 %), and self-monitoring (81 %), respectively. Interventions that included clinician-guiding software or feedback from personnel appeared to promote more weight loss than fully automated interventions. Only two (13 %) studies used publically available technologies. Many studies had fair pragmatism scores (mean: 2.8/4), despite occurring in primary care.DiscussionCompared to usual care, technology-assisted interventions in the PC setting help patients achieve weight loss, offering evidence-based options to PC providers. However, best practices remain undetermined. Despite occurring in PC, studies often fall short in utilizing pragmatic methodology and rarely provide publically available technology. Longitudinal, pragmatic, interdisciplinary, and open-source interventions are needed.
| S-EPMC4284284 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PURPOSE OF REVIEW:The purpose of this review is to describe and assess the literature on mobile health (mHealth) and other technology-based HIV testing interventions published in the 5-year period from 2015 to 2020. RECENT FINDINGS:We identified 18 published technology-based studies, 6 of which were efficacy trials and the remaining 12 were either pilot randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-experimental studies. Most (n?=?10) interventions were conducted outside the USA, including countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (n?=?4), China (n?=?3), Latin America (n?=?2), and India (n?=?1). All efficacy trials showed some evidence of efficacy, although uptake of HIV testing was low among in intervention trials that consisted of a low number of text messages. Most pilot RCTs demonstrated high levels of feasibility and acceptability, as well as some evidence that the intervention participants benefited more than the control group. Many non-randomized trials similarly reported positive appraisal by study participants. Recommendations for future research and practice by the authors of the studies reviewed here are summarized. Technology-assisted HIV testing interventions may be an important strategy to reach national and global targets for HIV status awareness in the general population and for most at-risk groups. Although there appears to be growing evidence of their benefit, questions linger regarding how to leverage existing social media platforms to promote HIV testing, which interventions work for what populations, and best practices for scaling up mHealth and other technology-based interventions.
| S-EPMC7276280 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Primary care settings are uniquely positioned to reach individuals at risk of alcohol use disorder through technology-delivered behavioral health interventions. Despite emerging effectiveness data, few efforts have been made to summarize the collective findings from these delivery approaches. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to review recent literature on the use of technology to deliver, enhance, or support the implementation of alcohol-related interventions in primary care. We focused on addressing questions related to (1) categorization or target of the intervention, (2) descriptive characteristics and context of delivery, (3) reported efficacy, and (4) factors influencing efficacy. METHODS:We conducted a comprehensive search and systematic review of completed studies at the intersection of primary care, technology, and alcohol-related problems published from January 2000 to December 2018 within EBSCO databases, ProQuest Dissertations, and Cochrane Reviews. Of 2307 initial records, 42 were included and coded independently by 2 investigators. RESULTS:Compared with the years of 2000 to 2009, published studies on technology-based alcohol interventions in primary care nearly tripled during the years of 2010 to 2018. Of the 42 included studies, 28 (64%) were randomized controlled trials. Furthermore, studies were rated on risk of bias and found to be predominantly low risk (n=18), followed by moderate risk (n=16), and high risk (n=8). Of the 24 studies with primary or secondary efficacy outcomes related to drinking and drinking-related harms, 17 (71%) reported reduced drinking or harm in all primary and secondary efficacy outcomes. Furthermore, of the 31 studies with direct comparisons with treatment as usual (TAU), 13 (42%) reported that at least half of the primary and secondary efficacy outcomes of the technology-based interventions were superior to TAU. High efficacy was associated with provider involvement and the reported use of an implementation strategy to deliver the technology-based intervention. CONCLUSIONS:Our systematic review has highlighted a pattern of growth in the number of studies evaluating technology-based alcohol interventions in primary care. Although these interventions appear to be largely beneficial in primary care, outcomes may be enhanced by provider involvement and implementation strategy use. This review enables better understanding of the typologies and efficacy of these interventions and informs recommendations for those developing and implementing technology-based alcohol interventions in primary care settings.
| S-EPMC6475823 | biostudies-other
Project description:BackgroundLow back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of worldwide years lost because of disability, with a tremendous economic burden for health care systems. Digital therapeutic care (DTC) programs provide a scalable, universally accessible, and low-cost approach to the multidisciplinary treatment of LBP. Moreover, novel decision support interventions such as personalized feedback messages, push notifications, and data-driven activity recommendations amplify DTC by guiding the user through the program while aiming to increase overall engagement and sustainable behavior change.ObjectiveThis systematic review aims to synthesize recent scientific literature on the impact of DTC apps for people with LBP and outline the implementation of add-on decision support interventions, including their effect on user retention and attrition rates.MethodsWe searched bibliographic databases, including MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and the Physiotherapy Evidence Database, from March 1, 2016, to October 15, 2020, in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines and conducted this review based on related previously published systematic reviews. Besides randomized controlled trials (RCTs), we also included study designs with the evidence level of at least a retrospective comparative study. This enables the consideration of real-world user-generated data and provides information regarding the adoption and effectiveness of DTC apps in a real-life setting. For the appraisal of the risk of bias, we used the Risk of Bias 2 Tool and the Risk of Bias in Non-Randomized Studies of Interventions Tool for the RCTs and nonrandomized trials, respectively. The included studies were narratively synthesized regarding primary and secondary outcome measures, DTC components, applied decision support interventions, user retention, and attrition rates.ResultsWe retrieved 1388 citations, of which 12 studies are included in this review. Of the 12 studies, 6 (50%) were RCTs and 6 (50%) were nonrandomized trials. In all included studies, lower pain levels and increased functionality compared with baseline values were observed in the DTC intervention group. A between-group comparison revealed significant improvements in pain and functionality levels in 67% (4/6) of the RCTs. The study population was mostly homogeneous, with predominantly female, young to middle-aged participants of normal to moderate weight. The methodological quality assessment revealed moderate to high risks of biases, especially in the nonrandomized trials.ConclusionsThis systematic review demonstrates the benefits of DTC for people with LBP. There is also evidence that decision support interventions benefit overall engagement with the app and increase participants' ability to self-manage their recovery process. Finally, including retrospective evaluation studies of real-world user-generated data in future systematic reviews of digital health intervention trials can reveal new insights into the benefits, challenges, and real-life adoption of DTC programs.
| S-EPMC8663573 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PurposeRural residents face higher cancer incidence rates and mortality rates, disparities that could be mitigated with health technology interventions, yet a digital divide is also apparent. This paper systematically and critically examines existing literature to understand how digital technologies have been used to support rural oncology care.MethodsPubMed, CINAHL Complete, PsycINFO, and Embase were searched using Medical Subject Headings terms and keywords. Studies were eligible if they presented empirical data investigating the use of technology in rural oncology and were published in English in a peer-reviewed journal within the last decade. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used to assess methodological quality.FindingsDigital health has been less extensively utilized in rural oncology compared with the general cancer population and other chronic diseases. We identified 54 studies that used technology in rural cancer care delivery, a comparatively small number, representing a significant gap in the literature. Studies were classified into 4 categories: Telemedicine (n = 32), phone calls (n = 11), Internet (n = 9), and mobile phone (n = 2). Of the 54 articles, 12 were RCTs, 17 were quasi-experimental, 3 were descriptive, 12 were mixed methods, and 10 were qualitative. Most of the studies involved patients only (n = 31) and were not specific to a cancer type (n = 41).ConclusionsFurther implementation and expansion of telemedicine and phone-based strategies in rural cancer care delivery are warranted. Rural cancer survivors value digital approaches to their care. However, social and behavioral determinants of health and access to technology must be considered.
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Project description:The global cancer disease burden is substantial, resulting in increased economic and clinical strain on our healthcare systems. A proposed solution is text-based communication, which can be used for cancer-supportive care. We conducted a systematic review to synthesize and describe the use of text-based communications for cancer-supportive care. Our population of interest included adult patients with cancer. A total of 18 studies were included in the review: 9 RCTs and 9 non-randomized interventional/observational studies. Patients were largely satisfied with text-based communication during their cancer care. Compared to controls, results for other outcomes including symptoms and quality of life were largely mixed; however, no harms were observed. Furthermore, positive outcomes were seen for specific interventions, such as text message medication reminders. These findings should be considered with caution due to the considerable heterogeneity observed between studies regarding their design and reported outcomes and the high risk of bias associated with 6/18 studies. Overall, this review suggests that text-based communication may be a complementary tool for cancer-supportive care; however, more research is needed to examine the feasibility of implementation and use.
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Project description:Digital health interventions (DHIs) have the potential to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of palliative care but heterogeneity amongst existing systematic reviews presents a challenge for evidence synthesis. This meta-review applied a structured search of ten databases from 2006 to 2020, revealing 21 relevant systematic reviews, encompassing 332 publications. Interventions delivered via videoconferencing (17%), electronic healthcare records (16%) and phone (13%) were most frequently described in studies within reviews. DHIs were typically used in palliative care for education (20%), symptom management (15%), decision-making (13%), information provision or management (13%) and communication (9%). Across all reviews, mostly positive impacts were reported on education, information sharing, decision-making, communication and costs. Impacts on quality of life and physical and psychological symptoms were inconclusive. Applying AMSTAR 2 criteria, most reviews were judged as low quality as they lacked a protocol or did not consider risk of bias, so findings need to be interpreted with caution.
| S-EPMC8024379 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:People with disabilities need rehabilitation interventions to improve their physical functioning, mental status, and quality of life. Many rehabilitation interventions can be delivered electronically ("digitally") via telehealth systems. For people with disabilities in underserved areas, electronically delivered rehabilitation interventions may be the only feasible service available for them. OBJECTIVE:The objective of this study was to evaluate the current status of digital interventions for people with disabilities in remote and underserved areas. METHODS:A systematic review was conducted on this topic. Keyword searches in multiple databases (PubMed, CINAHL, and Inspec) were performed to collect articles published in this field. The obtained articles were selected based on our selection criteria. Of the 198 identified articles, 16 duplicates were removed. After a review of the titles and abstracts of the remaining articles, 165 were determined to be irrelevant to this study and were therefore removed. The full texts of the remaining 17 articles were reviewed, and 6 of these articles were removed as being irrelevant to this study. The 11 articles remaining were discussed and summarized by 2 reviewers. RESULTS:These 11 studies cover a few types of disabilities, such as developmental disabilities and mobility impairments as well as several types of disability-causing disorders such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, and facio-scapulo-humeral muscular dystrophy. Most of these studies were small-scale case studies and relatively larger-scale cohort studies; the project evaluation methods were mainly pre-post comparison, questionnaires, and interviews. A few studies also performed objective assessment of functional improvement. The intervention technology was mainly videoconferencing. Moreover, 10 of these studies were for people with disabilities in rural areas and 1 was for people in urban communities. CONCLUSIONS:A small number of small-scale studies have been conducted on digital interventions for people with disabilities in underserved areas. Although the results reported in these studies were mostly positive, they are not sufficient to prove the effectiveness of telehealth-based digital intervention in improving the situation among people with disabilities because of the small sample sizes and lack of randomized controlled trials.
| S-EPMC7380899 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAssistive technologies for people with dementia and their relatives have the potential to ensure, improve, and facilitate home care and thereby enhance the health of the people caring or being cared for. The number and diversity of technologies and research have continuously increased over the past few decades. As a result, the research field has become complex.ObjectiveThe goal of this scoping review was to provide an overview of the research on technology-assisted home care for people with dementia and their relatives in order to guide further research and technology development.MethodsA scoping review was conducted following a published framework and by searching 4 databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and CENTRAL) for studies published between 2013 and 2018. We included qualitative and quantitative studies in English or German focusing on technologies that support people with dementia or their informal carers in the home care setting. Studies that targeted exclusively people with mild cognitive impairment, delirium, or health professionals were excluded as well as studies that solely consisted of assessments without implication for the people with dementia or their relatives and prototype developments. We mapped the research field regarding study design, study aim, setting, sample size, technology type, and technology aim, and we report relative and absolute frequencies.ResultsFrom an initial 5328 records, we included 175 studies. We identified a variety of technology types including computers, telephones, smartphones, televisions, gaming consoles, monitoring devices, ambient assisted living, and robots. Assistive technologies were most commonly used by people with dementia (77/175, 44.0%), followed by relatives (68/175, 38.9%), and both target groups (30/175, 17.1%). Their most frequent goals were to enable or improve care, provide therapy, or positively influence symptoms of people with dementia (eg, disorientation). The greatest proportions of studies were case studies and case series (72/175, 41.1%) and randomized controlled trials (44/175, 25.1%). The majority of studies reported small sample sizes of between 1 and 50 participants (122/175, 69.7%). Furthermore, most of the studies analyzed the effectiveness (85/233, 36.5%) of the technology, while others targeted feasibility or usability or were explorative.ConclusionsThis review demonstrated the variety of technologies that support people with dementia and their relatives in the home care setting. Whereas this diversity provides the opportunity for needs-oriented technical solutions that fit individual care arrangements, it complicates the choice of the right technology. Therefore, research on the users' informational needs is required. Moreover, there is a need for larger studies on the technologies' effectiveness that could contribute to a higher acceptance and thus to a transition of technologies from research into the daily lives of people with dementia and their relatives.
| S-EPMC7857954 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundCaring for people with dementia is perceived as one of the most stressful and difficult forms of caring. Family caregivers always experience high levels of psychological burden and physical strain, so effective and practical support is essential. Internet-based supportive interventions can provide convenient and efficient support and education to potentially reduce the physical and psychological burden associated with providing care.ObjectiveThis review aimed to (1) assess the efficacy of internet-based supportive interventions in ameliorating health outcomes for family caregivers of people with dementia, and (2) evaluate the potential effects of internet-based supportive intervention access by caregivers on their care recipients.MethodsAn electronic literature search of the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO databases was conducted up to January 2020. Two reviewers (ML and YZ) worked independently to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that met the inclusion criteria and independently extracted data. The quality of the included RCTs was evaluated using the approach recommended by the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% CIs were applied to calculate the pooled effect sizes.ResultsIn total, 17 RCTs met the eligibility criteria and were included in this systematic review. The meta-analysis showed that internet-based supportive interventions significantly ameliorated depressive symptoms (SMD=-0.21; 95% CI -0.31 to -0.10; P<.001), perceived stress (SMD=-0.40; 95% CI -0.55 to -0.24; P<.001), anxiety (SMD=-0.33; 95% CI -0.51 to -0.16; P<.001), and self-efficacy (SMD=0.19; 95% CI 0.05-0.33; P=.007) in dementia caregivers. No significant improvements were found in caregiver burden, coping competence, caregiver reactions to behavioral symptoms, or quality of life. Six studies assessed the unintended effects of internet-based supportive intervention access by caregivers on their care recipients. The results showed that internet-based supportive interventions had potential benefits on the quality of life and neuropsychiatric symptoms in care recipients.ConclusionsInternet-based supportive interventions are generally effective at ameliorating depressive symptoms, perceived stress, anxiety, and self-efficacy in dementia caregivers and have potential benefits on care recipients. Future studies are encouraged to adopt personalized internet-based supportive interventions to improve the health of family caregivers and their care recipients.Trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42020162434; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=162434.
| S-EPMC7511858 | biostudies-literature