Effect of mobile health interventions for side effects management in patients undergoing chemotherapy: A systematic review

Abstract

ObjectivesThis systematic review aimed to investigate the effect of mobile health (mHealth) interventions in the management of chemotherapy-induced side effects among cancer patients. MethodsStudies 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) guidelines. 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. ResultsIn 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]. ConclusionThe 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 satisfaction, and plays an important role in palliative and supportive care of cancer patients.