Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Jun 4, 2022
Date Accepted: Oct 25, 2022
Digital Health Interventions for Adult Cancer Patients Evaluated in Randomized Clinical Trials: A Scoping Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Digital care has become an essential component in delivering health care. Interventions for cancer patients need to be effective and safe, and digital health interventions must adhere to the same requirements.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to identify currently available digital health interventions developed and evaluated in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) targeting adult cancer patients.
Methods:
A scoping review using JBI methodology was conducted. The participants were adult cancer patients, and the concept was digital health interventions. The context was open, and sources were limited to RCT effectiveness studies. The MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane, RISS and KoreaMed databases were searched. Data were extracted and analyzed to achieve summarized results about the participants, types, functions and outcomes of digital health interventions.
Results:
A total of 231 studies were reviewed. Digital health interventions were utilized mostly at home (81.0%), and the Web-based intervention was the most frequently utilized intervention modality (50.2%). Interventions consisting of Multiple functional components were most frequently identified (29.9%), followed by those with the Self-manage function (29.0%). Web-based interventions targeting symptoms with the Self-manage and Multiple functions, Web-based interventions to Self-manage communication with providers, and Web-based interventions to Treat cognitive function and fear of cancer recurrence consistently achieved positive outcomes. More studies supported the positive effects of Web-based interventions to Inform decision making and knowledge. The effectiveness of interventions targeting anxiety, depression, distress, fatigue, health-related quality of life/quality of life, pain, physical activity, and sleep were subjected to the types and functions of the digital health interventions. A relatively small number of digital health interventions were targeted specifically for elderly (2.6%) or advanced/metastatic cancer patients (9.5%).
Conclusions:
The current scoping review summarized digital health interventions developed and evaluated in RCTs with adult cancer patients. Systematic reviews of the identified digital interventions are strongly recommended to integrate digital health interventions into clinical practice. The identified gaps in digital health for cancer care need to be reflected in future digital health research. Clinical Trial: not applicable
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