A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE EFFECTS OF INTERNET-BASED PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS ON EMOTIONAL DISTRESS AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN ADULT CANCER PATIENTS

The aim of the present systematic review is to evaluate the effects of web-based psychological interventions tested via randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on improving patient-reported psychological distress and quality of life (QOL) among adult cancer patients compared to control conditions and evaluate the quality of the intervention studies. We conducted this review using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, searching five databases for RCT of web-based interventions for oncology patients that included a patient-reported psychological distress and/or QOL outcome. We assessed the quality of the included studies using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. Our search identified nineteen RCTs involving 4084 patients diagnosed with primary cancer investigating web-based psychological interventions. Quality-wise, six studies received a "strong" rating, eight received a "moderate" rating and five of the studies received a "weak" rating. Evidence indicates mixed support for these interventions to improve psychological distress and QOL in cancer patients' samples. Web-based delivery format show potential in effective management of psychological distress and QOL in cancer patients. Still, due to heterogeneity in interventions tested and targeted populations, additional high-quality studies and further clarifications are needed for these treatments to be considered empirically supported treatments.