The effectiveness of telehealth programs on the mental health of women with breast cancer: A systematic review
Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this systematic review is to determine the evidence-based information and results about the effectiveness of telehealth programs on the mental health of women with breast cancer. Methods: The research process was carried out using PRISMA guidelines. Randomized controlled trials with available abstract and full text, which were published in English with the keywords "telehealth," "telemedicine," "web-based therapy," "telepsychiatry," "online therapy" and "breast cancer" in Pub Med, PsycINFO, Medline, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Sciences and Cochrane databases between 2015-2019 were searced. As a result of the evaluations, the research was completed with 16 studies meeting the research criteria. Results: There was strong evidence for reduce the fear of relapse of cancer, depressive symptoms and severity of depression, distress, intrusive thoughts, anxiety, sleep disorder, insomnia, improve quality of life and for improve cognitive functions, improve psychological strength and sleep quality of telehealth programs in women with breast cancer. Furthermore, evidence was found for increase psychological health, functionality, optimism and control over the future, positive mood and life appreciation, and drug compliance of these programs. Conclusion: This review found evidence for the effectiveness of telehealth programs on the mental problems of women with breast cancer. In this sense, it is recommended to expand the use of telehealth programs, which can…
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There are existing systematic and metareviews on web-based interventions for cancer care/aftercare and on fear of cancer recurrence interventions more generally.
“There are a number of existing systematic and metareviews on web-based interventions for cancer care/aftercare [9–17] and on fear of cancer recurrence interventions more generally [18–21].”
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- Authors
- Koç, Z., Kaplan, E., & Tanrıverdi, D.
- Affiliations
- Gaziantep University (TR)
- Corresponding author
- Koç, Zeynep
- Venue
- Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2022-02-02
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 405-419
- ISSN
- 1357-633X (ISSN-L)
- 1758-1109
- OpenAlex
- W4210346633
- Cited by
- 33
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 5
- FWCI
- 0.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Keywords
- telemedicine, breast cancer, mental health, depression, anxiety, quality of life, sleep quality, insomnia, fear of cancer recurrence, psychological distress, online therapy, telepsychiatry, medication adherence, women
- MeSH terms
- Anxiety, Breast Neoplasms, Depression, Female, Humans, Mental Health, Quality of Life, Telemedicine
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