Telehealth in Informal Caregivers of Stroke Survivors: A Systematic Review
<b>Background</b>: There has been an increase in people with disabilities who require continuous care, which often falls to informal carers (ICs). Stroke is one of the conditions where ICs are most needed. Therefore, it is necessary for ICs to improve their caregiving skills and self-car...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/13/6/1810 |
| _version_ | 1797240513112309760 |
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| author | Juan Carlos Zuil-Escobar Jose Antonio Martín-Urrialde Juan Andrés Mesa-Jiménez Rocío Palomo-Carrión Carmen Belén Martínez-Cepa |
| author_facet | Juan Carlos Zuil-Escobar Jose Antonio Martín-Urrialde Juan Andrés Mesa-Jiménez Rocío Palomo-Carrión Carmen Belén Martínez-Cepa |
| author_sort | Juan Carlos Zuil-Escobar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background</b>: There has been an increase in people with disabilities who require continuous care, which often falls to informal carers (ICs). Stroke is one of the conditions where ICs are most needed. Therefore, it is necessary for ICs to improve their caregiving skills and self-care capacity. Telehealth (TH) can facilitate them. The aim of this systematic review is to summarize the evidence of the effects of interventions on ICs of stroke patients. <b>Methods</b>: The search was conducted in Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINALH, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and APA PsycInfo. Key search terms included “stroke”, “informal caregiver” and “telemedicine”. Only randomised clinical trials were included. <b>Results</b>: A total of 2031 articles were found in the databases, 476 were screened and 19 clinical trials met the eligibility criteria. Different TH programmes have evaluated many outcomes related to physical and emotional health. The TH tools included phone, videophone, web-based interventions, and social media. The most investigated outcome was depression; although contradictory results were found, the TH may have helped to prevent an increase in depressive symptoms. There were inconsistent results on the caregiving burden and the preparedness of the IC. However, TH has positive effects on the health of the ICs, reducing the number of unhealthy days, anxiety, task difficulty perception, and improving psychological health. <b>Conclusions</b>: TH may be a useful tool to improve the abilities and health of ICs of SS. No adverse effects have been reported. More quality studies evaluating the effects of telemedicine on the ICs of stroke survivors, as well as the most appropriate doses, are needed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:08:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eb4054d83b354cb6b5627d670b342087 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0383 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:08:37Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-eb4054d83b354cb6b5627d670b3420872024-03-27T13:48:22ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832024-03-01136181010.3390/jcm13061810Telehealth in Informal Caregivers of Stroke Survivors: A Systematic ReviewJuan Carlos Zuil-Escobar0Jose Antonio Martín-Urrialde1Juan Andrés Mesa-Jiménez2Rocío Palomo-Carrión3Carmen Belén Martínez-Cepa4Departamento de Fisioterapia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, 28668 Alcorcón, SpainDepartamento de Fisioterapia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, 28668 Alcorcón, SpainDepartamento de Fisioterapia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, 28668 Alcorcón, SpainPhysiotherapy Department, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 45071 Toledo, SpainDepartamento de Fisioterapia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, 28668 Alcorcón, Spain<b>Background</b>: There has been an increase in people with disabilities who require continuous care, which often falls to informal carers (ICs). Stroke is one of the conditions where ICs are most needed. Therefore, it is necessary for ICs to improve their caregiving skills and self-care capacity. Telehealth (TH) can facilitate them. The aim of this systematic review is to summarize the evidence of the effects of interventions on ICs of stroke patients. <b>Methods</b>: The search was conducted in Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINALH, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and APA PsycInfo. Key search terms included “stroke”, “informal caregiver” and “telemedicine”. Only randomised clinical trials were included. <b>Results</b>: A total of 2031 articles were found in the databases, 476 were screened and 19 clinical trials met the eligibility criteria. Different TH programmes have evaluated many outcomes related to physical and emotional health. The TH tools included phone, videophone, web-based interventions, and social media. The most investigated outcome was depression; although contradictory results were found, the TH may have helped to prevent an increase in depressive symptoms. There were inconsistent results on the caregiving burden and the preparedness of the IC. However, TH has positive effects on the health of the ICs, reducing the number of unhealthy days, anxiety, task difficulty perception, and improving psychological health. <b>Conclusions</b>: TH may be a useful tool to improve the abilities and health of ICs of SS. No adverse effects have been reported. More quality studies evaluating the effects of telemedicine on the ICs of stroke survivors, as well as the most appropriate doses, are needed.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/13/6/1810caregivercaregiver burdenstroketelemedicine |
| spellingShingle | Juan Carlos Zuil-Escobar Jose Antonio Martín-Urrialde Juan Andrés Mesa-Jiménez Rocío Palomo-Carrión Carmen Belén Martínez-Cepa Telehealth in Informal Caregivers of Stroke Survivors: A Systematic Review Journal of Clinical Medicine caregiver caregiver burden stroke telemedicine |
| title | Telehealth in Informal Caregivers of Stroke Survivors: A Systematic Review |
| title_full | Telehealth in Informal Caregivers of Stroke Survivors: A Systematic Review |
| title_fullStr | Telehealth in Informal Caregivers of Stroke Survivors: A Systematic Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Telehealth in Informal Caregivers of Stroke Survivors: A Systematic Review |
| title_short | Telehealth in Informal Caregivers of Stroke Survivors: A Systematic Review |
| title_sort | telehealth in informal caregivers of stroke survivors a systematic review |
| topic | caregiver caregiver burden stroke telemedicine |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/13/6/1810 |
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