Web-based Self-management Support Interventions for Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analyses

Those who are living with cancer as a chronic disease need to self-manage the late and long-term effects of cancer and its treatment. We conducted systematic searches of English-language peer-reviewed publications in PubMed, Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and EMBASE between January 2000 and June 2014. We searched for web-based interventions designed to help cancer survivors manage their symptoms and the side effects of cancer treatments, which yielded 37 studies that were systematically reviewed. For the meta-analyses, five articles were selected for fatigue, seven for depression, five for anxiety, and five for overall quality of life. The most popular mode of intervention delivery was "peer-to-peer access" in the communicative functions category, followed by "the use of an enriched information environment" in the automated functions category. The effectss across all outcome measures were small to moderate compared to standard care. Healthcare providers could use information technologies to support self-management among cancer survivors based on their needs across the cancer care continuum.