Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Sep 11, 2019
Date Accepted: Feb 10, 2020
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Patients’ experiences of telehealth in palliative home care: a scoping review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Telehealth is increasingly being used in homecare and could be one measure to support the needs of home-based patients receiving palliative care. However, no previous scoping review has mapped existing studies on the use of telehealth for patients in palliative home care.
Objective:
To map and assess published studies on the use of telehealth for patients in palliative home care.
Methods:
A scoping review was conducted employing the methodological framework of Arksey and O’Malley. A systematic and comprehensive search of Medline, Embase, PsycINFO and CINAHL was performed for studies published between January 2000 and October 2018. Two authors independently assessed eligibility and extracted data.
Results:
The review included 22 papers from 19 studies. Four thematic groupings were identified among the included papers: easy and effortless use of telehealth regardless of current health condition, visual features that enhance communication and care via telehealth, symptom management and self-management promotion by telehealth, and perceptions of improved palliative care at home.
Conclusions:
The use of telehealth in palliative home care seems to be feasible, improving access to healthcare professionals at home and enhancing feelings of security and safety. The visual features of telehealth seem to allow a genuine relationship with healthcare professionals. However, there are contradicting results on whether the use of telehealth improves burdensome symptoms and quality of life. Future research should investigate the experiences of using telehealth among patients with life-limiting illness other than cancer and patients aged 85 years or older. More research is needed to increase the body of knowledge regarding the effectiveness of telehealth on symptoms and quality of life.
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Copyright
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