Abstract
Mobile phone-based interventions are increasingly used to prevent adverse health outcomes in heart failure patients. However, the effects of mobile phone-based interventions on the health outcomes of heart failure patients remain unclear. Our review aims to synthesize the randomized controlled trials (RCT) of mobile phone-based interventions for heart failure patients and identify the intervention features that are most effective. Electronic searches of RCTs published from January 2000 to July 2019 were conducted. Primary outcomes included all-cause mortality, readmission, emergency department visits, length of hospital stays, and quality of life. Secondary outcomes were self-care behaviors, including medication adherence and other clinical outcomes. A total of eight studies with varying methodological quality met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Voice call intervention was more frequently used compared with telemonitoring and short message services. Our meta-analysis showed that voice call interventions had significant effects on the length of hospital stays. However, no significant effects on all-cause mortality, readmission, emergency department visits, or quality of life were found. Compared to other mobile phone-based interventions, voice calls were more effective in reducing the length of hospital stay. Future studies are needed to identify which features of mobile phone-based intervention most effectively improve health outcomes.
Highlights
Heart failure (HF) is known to be a major life-threatening chronic disease with increasing prevalence, causing medical and financial problems
The results demonstrated that the effect of mobile phone-based interventions for HF patients was statistically significant (SMD = −0.166, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) = −0.287 to −0.145)
The results demonstrated that the effect of mobile phone-based interventions for HF patients was not statistically significant
Summary
Heart failure (HF) is known to be a major life-threatening chronic disease with increasing prevalence, causing medical and financial problems. Worldwide, owing to advances in HF treatment and an aging population, the prevalence of HF is expected to increase by 46% by 2030 [1,2]. Despite advances in HF treatment, primary health outcomes, such as hospitalization rates and health-related quality of life (QoL), have not improved significantly [3,4]. Chronic HF affects the elderly in particular, with 80% of HF-related hospitalizations and 90% of HF-related deaths occurring among patients aged 65 years or older [7]. HF management costs account for approximately 1%–2% of all healthcare expenditures, mostly associated with recurrent hospital admissions [1]. The main goal of treating patients with chronic HF is to avoid adverse outcomes [8]
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