The use of eHealth to promote physical activity in thoracic malignancies survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Abstract PurposeSurvival rates for many forms of thoracic malignancies have improved over the past few decades, however, many survivors are coping with the side effects of cancer treatment for longer. Physical activity has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy to act across multiple organ systems and improve clinical outcomes and eHealth could be a good way to encourage patients. The aim of this systematic review was to explore the effects of eHealth in the promotion of PA among thoracic malignancies.MethodsSuitable articles were searched using PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases using a combination of medical subject headings. Articles were screened by two independent reviewers and were included if they presented an eHealth intervention to improve PA in thoracic malignancies.ResultsIn total, 4781 articles were identified, of which ten met eligibility criteria. Different eHealth interventions were described in these studies: mobile application (app) (n=3), website (n=2), email (n=2), web and mobile application (n=1), telephone counseling (n=1) and online sheet (n=1). All studies reported improvements in PA, with 8/10 studies reporting statistically significant changes. ConclusionMeta-analysis revealed eHealth is a good way to improve PA in thoracic malignancies survivors, compared to no intervention, conventional treatment or a diet approach. Future studies are needed to clarify the specific intervention to improve these patients’ recovery.