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Effects of Internet-based psycho-educational interventions on mental health and quality of life among cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Abstract

Purpose

To systematically review evidence regarding the benefits of Internet-based psycho-educational interventions among cancer patients.

Methods

We performed a systematic review with meta-analysis and qualitative evidence synthesis. Systematic searches for published studies in English or Chinese identified eligible randomized and clinical controlled trials. The following databases were searched: Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Proquest Digital Dissertations, Foreign Medical Retrieval System, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal Database, China Wanfang Database, and Taiwanese Airiti Library. We also searched the gray literature and reviewed reference lists from relevant articles. Studies were scored for quality using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool.

Results

Seven eligible studies (1220 participants) were identified that used three intervention tools: website programs (n = 5), e-mail counseling (n = 1), and a single-session psycho-educational intervention (n = 1). The quality of all studies was moderate. The meta-analysis showed that Internet-based psycho-educational interventions had a significant effect on decreasing depression (standardized mean difference (SMD) − 0.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) (− 1.12, − 0.03), p = 0.04) and fatigue (mean difference (MD) − 9.83, 95% CI (− 14.63, − 5.03), p < 0.01). However, there was no evidence for effects on distress (SMD − 1.03, 95% CI (− 2.63, 0.57), p = 0.21) or quality of life (MD 1.10, 95% CI (− 4.42, 6.63), p = 0.70).

Conclusion

Internet-based psycho-educational interventions reduce fatigue and depression in cancer patients. More rigorous studies with larger samples and long-term follow-up are warranted to investigate the effects of these interventions on cancer patient quality of life and other psychosocial outcomes.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the librarian Feng-Zhen Guan for her contribution in the search strategy and Hai-Yan Guo for her kind assistance in the revision of the English language in this manuscript.

Funding

This study was supported by the Scientific Research Talents Training Project from Fujian Province Health Commission, China (Grant No. 2018-ZQN-63), and Fujian Provincial Nature Science (Grant No. 2019J01684).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China

    Ying Wang, Yazhu Lin, **gyi Chen, Chunfeng Wang & Rong Hu

  2. Department of Hematology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China

    Yong Wu

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  1. Ying Wang
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  2. Yazhu Lin
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  3. **gyi Chen
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Contributions

Ying Wang and Yazhu Lin contributed equally to this work. Rong Hu was responsible for the study conception and design. Ying Wang and Yazhu Lin contributed to data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation. Ying Wang was responsible for manuscript preparation. Rong Hu and Yong Wu contributed to the critical revision of the manuscript, obtained funding, and supervised the research. **gyi Chen and Chunfeng Wang contributed to the review of the data and manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript and have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.

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Correspondence to Rong Hu or Yong Wu.

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Wang, Y., Lin, Y., Chen, J. et al. Effects of Internet-based psycho-educational interventions on mental health and quality of life among cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Support Care Cancer 28, 2541–2552 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05383-3

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