The impact of digital health interventions on the psychological outcomes of patients and families receiving paediatric palliative care: a systematic review and narrative synthesis
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Archer, Stephanie
Cheung, NHY
Williams, Ivor
Darzi, Ara
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background:
Digital health interventions are becoming increasingly important and may be particularly relevant for paediatric palliative care. In line with the aims of palliative care, digital health interventions should aim to maintain, if not improve, psychological wellbeing. However, the extent to which the psychological outcomes of digital health interventions are assessed is currently unknown.
Aim:
To identify and synthesise the literature exploring the impact of all digital health interventions on the psychological outcomes of patients and families receiving paediatric palliative care.
Design:
Systematic review and narrative synthesis.
Data sources:
MEDLINE, EMBASE, Health Management Information Consortium, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature and the Midwives Information & Resource Service were searched on the 27th July 2020, in addition to the first five pages of Google Scholar. To be included in the review, papers must have contained: quantitative or qualitative data on psychosocial outcomes, data from patients aged 0–18 receiving palliative care or their families, a digital health intervention, and been written in English.
Results:
Three studies were included in the review. All looked at the psychological impact of telehealth interventions. Papers demonstrated fair or good quality reporting but had small sample sizes and varied designs.
Conclusions:
Despite the design and development of digital health interventions that span the technological landscape, little research has assessed their psychosocial impact in the paediatric palliative care community. Whilst the evidence base around the role of these interventions continues to grow, their impact on children and their families must not be overlooked.
Digital health interventions are becoming increasingly important and may be particularly relevant for paediatric palliative care. In line with the aims of palliative care, digital health interventions should aim to maintain, if not improve, psychological wellbeing. However, the extent to which the psychological outcomes of digital health interventions are assessed is currently unknown.
Aim:
To identify and synthesise the literature exploring the impact of all digital health interventions on the psychological outcomes of patients and families receiving paediatric palliative care.
Design:
Systematic review and narrative synthesis.
Data sources:
MEDLINE, EMBASE, Health Management Information Consortium, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature and the Midwives Information & Resource Service were searched on the 27th July 2020, in addition to the first five pages of Google Scholar. To be included in the review, papers must have contained: quantitative or qualitative data on psychosocial outcomes, data from patients aged 0–18 receiving palliative care or their families, a digital health intervention, and been written in English.
Results:
Three studies were included in the review. All looked at the psychological impact of telehealth interventions. Papers demonstrated fair or good quality reporting but had small sample sizes and varied designs.
Conclusions:
Despite the design and development of digital health interventions that span the technological landscape, little research has assessed their psychosocial impact in the paediatric palliative care community. Whilst the evidence base around the role of these interventions continues to grow, their impact on children and their families must not be overlooked.
Date Issued
2021-12-01
Date Acceptance
2021-06-02
Citation
Palliative Medicine, 2021, 35 (10), pp.2017-2023
ISSN
0269-2163
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Start Page
2017
End Page
2023
Journal / Book Title
Palliative Medicine
Volume
35
Issue
10
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
License URL
Identifier
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02692163211026523
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Health Care Sciences & Services
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Medicine, General & Internal
General & Internal Medicine
Digital health interventions
psychosocial outcomes
paediatric
palliative care
systematic review
TELEHEALTH
Digital health interventions
paediatric
palliative care
psychosocial outcomes
systematic review
Gerontology
1117 Public Health and Health Services
1199 Other Medical and Health Sciences
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-06-23