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Cited by 24Telemedicine and Telehealth ImplementationDigital Mental Health InterventionsMental Health Treatment and Access

The effects of treatment via telemedicine interventions for patients with depression on depressive symptoms and quality of life: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Shih, Yin-Hwa, Wang, Jiun-Yi, Chou, Po-Han, Lin, Kuan-Han·2023·Annals of Medicine
DOI 10.1080/07853890.2023.2187078PMC PMC10026747
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Abstract

Aim: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to identify, evaluate, and synthesize the evidence from studies that have investigated the treatment effect via telemedicine interventions on depressive symptoms, quality of life, and work and social functioning in patients with depression.Methods: Six electronic databases (MEDLINE [1916–2021], PubMED [1950–2021], PsycINFO [1971–2021], Scopus [2004–2021], Embase [1972–2021], and CINAHL [1937–2021]) were systematically searched in March 2021. Reference lists of identified articles were hand searched. Randomized controlled trials were included if they investigated the treatment effects via telemedicine interventions in patients who had a depression diagnosis. Quality assessment was evaluated using the critical appraisal checklists developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute.Results: Seventeen (17) trials (n = 2,394) met eligibility criteria and were included in the analysis. Eleven (11) randomized controlled trials shared common outcome measures, allowing meta-analysis. The results provided evidence that treatment via telemedicine interventions were beneficial for depressive symptoms (standardized mean difference= −0.44; 95% CI= −0.64 to −0.25; p < .001) and quality of life (standardized mean difference= 0.25, 95% CI −0.01 to 0.49, p = .04) in patients of depression. There were insufficient data for meta-analysis of work and social functioning.Conclusion: This study showed the positive effects of treatment via telemedicine interventions on depressive symptoms and quality of life in patients with depression and supported the idea for clinical practice to establish a well-organized telepsychiatry system.KEY MESSAGESTelemedicine is effective at reducing symptoms of depression.Telemedicine can improve quality of life in persons with depression.

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  • CBT has been shown to improve QoL in patients with depression.

    “and CBT has been shown to improve QoL in patients with depression (Hofmann et al., 2017;Shih et al., 2023).”

    From An internet‐based cognitive behavioural intervention for adults with depression in Arabic‐speaking countries: A randomized controlled trial. (2024) · cites this paper as Shih et al., 2023

    The Results table reports improved quality-of-life scores in studies of internet and telephone-based CBT, including Newby (2017) and Dobkin (2020). However, Shih et al. study telemedicine interventions in specific patient groups, and their pooled quality-of-life finding includes non-CBT interventions; it does not establish the claim for CBT generally in patients with depression. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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References 37 · Cited by 24

Research works printed but not linked: 27

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Authors
Shih, Y.-H., Wang, J.-Y., Chou, P.-H., & Lin, K.-H.
Affiliations
  • Asia University (TW)
  • China Medical University (TW)
Corresponding author
Lin, Kuan-Han
ORCID
Venue
Annals of Medicine
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2023-03-15
Volume
55
Issue
1
Pages
1092-1101
ISSN
  • 0785-3890 (ISSN-L)
  • 1365-2060
DOI
10.1080/07853890.2023.2187078
PMC
PMC10026747
OpenAlex
W4324309212
Cited by
24
References
37
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 1
FWCI
1.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Annals of Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (109-2314-B-468-006-MY3)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
Keywords
telemedicine, depression, telepsychiatry, depressive symptoms, quality of life, work functioning, social functioning, digital mental health interventions
MeSH terms
Depression, Humans, Psychiatry, Quality of Life, Telemedicine

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