Effect of mobile health interventions for side effects management in patients undergoing chemotherapy: A systematic review
Kimiafar, K (通讯作者),Mashhad Univ Med Sci, Sch Paramed Sci, Dept Hlth Informat Technol, Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan, Iran.
Objectives: This systematic review aimed to investigate the effect of mobile health (mHealth) interventions in the management of chemotherapy-induced side effects among cancer patients. Methods: Studies were obtained from the PubMed, Embase, Scopus and web of science databases on February 05, 2022. We followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guide-lines. In this review, we included randomized controlled trials [RCT] that used a mHealth interventions as a study intervention focused on patients undergoing chemotherapy. The relevant full texts were retrieved and independently screened based on the eligibility criteria. Results: In total, 19 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Of the 19 included studies, 15 were used mHealth interventions to control the symptoms and complications of chemotherapy. In 8 studies (42%) of them reported a significant improvement in the symptoms and complications of chemotherapy in the mHealth group compared to standard care group. Furthermore, in 5 cases of studies (26%) in the mHealth group, compared to standard care, they reported a significant improvement in patients' quality of life [QoL]. Conclusion: The result in this systematic review shown that mHealth interventions are comparable to or better than traditional care. In general, this technology improves the QoL, significantly contributes to patient satis-faction, and plays an important role in palliative and supportive care of cancer patients.