Effectiveness of psycho-educational interventions with telecommunication technologies on emotional distress and quality of life of adult cancer patients: a systematic review

Purpose: To provide a comprehensive review of psycho-educational interventions using telecommunication technologies developed for adult cancer patients, assessing their effectiveness in reducing emotional distress and improving quality of life (QoL). Materials and methods: A narrative approach was used for extraction and synthesis of the data. Relevant studies were identified through the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection (through EBSCOhost), and CENTRAL. Results: Eight studies involving 1016 participants met inclusion criteria. The majority of the studies included (n = 6) used a randomized design and were published between 2007 and 2016. Interventions used a variety of delivery resources, such as telephone, e-mail and websites, but all were aiming to respond to information needs and develop stress control skills. A trend toward reducing distress and improving QoL was found, but estimated effect sizes were typically small (d < 0.5). Telephonically delivered psycho-educational interventions presented the highest between-group effects on these outcomes during survival, but were limited by sample size. Conclusions: The efficacy of interventions using distance approaches in the cancer setting is still not well-established. Further research should be conducted through well-designed studies with more interactive features that minimize the lack of face-to-face interaction.