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The feasibility of telehealth in the monitoring of head and neck cancer patients: a systematic review on remote technology, user adherence, user satisfaction, and quality of life

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Abstract

Objectives

This systematic review aimed to analyze the use of telehealth in monitoring patients with head and neck cancer regarding the application used, user adherence to technology, user satisfaction, and user quality of life.

Materials and methods

A search strategy was developed using the PICO acronym and the terms “Head and Neck Cancer,” “Telehealth,” “Mobile Application,” and “Supportive Care.” A broad literature search was performed on PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, Lilacs, and Embase databases and on grey literature through Open Grey, Google Scholar, and Jstor, for studies comparing the monitoring of head and neck cancer patients with telehealth apps to the monitoring performed in a traditional way at health units. No study design, publication status, publication time, or language restrictions were applied. Pairs of reviewers worked independently for study selection and risk of bias assessment. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO and the PRISMA checklist used for reporting the review.

Results

We found 393 references in the databases, 325 after duplicate removal; 19 met the criteria for full-text reading; 08 studies were included for qualitative synthesis. Although there was heterogeneity regarding the technology used, the studies included showed that remote monitoring and/or self-management of symptoms through mobile applications was feasible for most patients, with satisfactory degrees of acceptability, satisfaction, usability, and adherence. The health-related quality of life improved with the use of remote technologies for telehealth, associated with low to moderate self-efficacy, higher personal control, and higher knowledge of health with clinically acceptable levels of accuracy compared to traditional clinical evaluation. Even when the data presented were not statistically significant, patients reported improvement in health-related quality of life after the intervention.

Conclusions

Telehealth monitoring through the use of remote technologies presents itself as an alternative way of educating and supporting patients during the treatment of Head and Neck Cancer (HNC). There is the need for a more user-friendly interface, adequate user experience assessment, and the concrete applicability of telehealth technologies for monitoring patients with HNC in order to legitimize the cost-effectiveness of developing long-term multicenter longitudinal studies term.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Irma M Verdonck-de Leeuw for providing information and data on her article that contributed to the realization of this systematic review.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dentistry Department, Faculty of Health Science, Brasilia University, Brasília, Brazil

    Helbert Eustáquio Cardoso da Silva, Glaucia Nize Martins Santos, André Ferreira Leite, Carla Ruffeil Moreira Mesquita, Paulo Tadeu de Souza Figueiredo, Cristine Miron Stefani & Nilce de Santos Melo

  2. UnB - Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil

    Helbert Eustáquio Cardoso da Silva

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  1. Helbert Eustáquio Cardoso da Silva
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  2. Glaucia Nize Martins Santos
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Helbert Eustáquio Cardoso da Silva, Glaucia Nize Martins Santos, Cristine Miron Stefani, Nilce Santos de Melo.

Data curation: Helbert Eustáquio Cardoso da Silva, Glaucia Nize Martins Santos, André Ferreira Leite.

Formal analysis: André Ferreira Leite, Carla Ruffeil Moreira Mesquita, Paulo Tadeu de Souza Figueiredo.

Investigation: André Ferreira Leite, Carla Ruffeil Moreira Mesquita, Paulo Tadeu de Souza Figueiredo.

Methodology: Helbert Eustáquio Cardoso da Silva, Glaucia Nize Martins Santos, Cristine Miron Stefani, Nilce Santos de Melo.

Project administration: Cristine Miron Stefani, Nilce Santos de Melo.

Supervision: Cristine Miron Stefani, Nilce Santos de Melo.

Validation: Cristine Miron Stefani, Nilce Santos de Melo.

Writing—original draft: Helbert Eustáquio Cardoso da Silva, Glaucia Nize Martins Santos, Cristine Miron Stefani.

Writing—review and editing: Cristine Miron Stefani, Nilce Santos de Melo.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Helbert Eustáquio Cardoso da Silva.

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da Silva, H., Santos, G., Ferreira Leite, A. et al. The feasibility of telehealth in the monitoring of head and neck cancer patients: a systematic review on remote technology, user adherence, user satisfaction, and quality of life. Support Care Cancer 30, 8391–8404 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-07109-z

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