Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Jul 2, 2020
Date Accepted: Sep 29, 2020
The effectiveness of telemedicine solutions for the management of diabetes patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Telemedicine is often suggested as a promising approach to support patients with diabetes. However, the effectiveness of diabetes-related telemedicine interventions in regards to patient-related outcomes needs evaluation. Previous systematic reviews describing the effectiveness of telemedicine in diabetes management focus on a specific type of telemedicine, a specific type of diabetes, specific comparators, or specific outcomes. Moreover, the rapid development within telemedicine emphasizes the need for a new review Thus, the present review has a broad scope with an eye to performing an updated and exhaustive review within the field. The review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of existing telemedicine solutions versus any comparator without the use of telemedicine on diabetes-related outcomes among adult diabetic patients.
Methods:
The review will consider studies that include adult subjects with a diagnosis of diabetes (type 1, 2, or gestational), studies that evaluate various types of telemedicine interventions, randomized controlled trials comparing a telemedicine intervention to any control that does not include telemedicine. Peer-reviewed full-text papers in English, Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish will be considered. A thorough search will be performed in PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). Data extraction will include details about the populations, study methods, interventions, and outcomes of significance based on the review objective.
Results:
The results of the review is expected to provide an estimate of the treatment effect. The studies will be pooled via statistical meta-analysis and supplemented with narrative comparisons when necessary. Discussion: The review is expected to have strengths as well as limitations. The search of literature will be very inclusive and exhaustive, which is a strength. On the other hand, the review is expected to be limited by the lack of heterogeneity between the included telemedicine studies, as telemedicine studies tend to differ in intervention type, inclusion criteria, technology, etc. The comparison of studies is expected to be complicated due to this divergence.
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