Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2025

A Novel Digital Platform for a Monitored Home-based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program
Published on: April 19, 2019
Effectiveness of Human-Supported and Self-Help eHealth Lifestyle Interventions for Patients With Cardiometabolic Risk
Talia R Cohen Rodrigues1, Linda D Breeman, Asena Kinik
1From the Health, Medical, and Neuropsychology Unit, Institute of Psychology (Cohen Rodrigues, Breeman, Kinik, Reijnders, Janssen, Evers), and Institute of Psychology, Methodology and Statistics Group (Dusseldorp), Leiden University; Department of Cardiology (Janssen, Atsma), Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden; NDDO Institute for Prevention and Early Diagnostics (NIPED) (Kraaijenhagen), Amsterdam; Vital10 (Kraaijenhagen), Amsterdam; Department of Psychiatry (Evers), Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden; and Medical Delta, Leiden University, Technical University of Delft, and Erasmus University Rotterdam (Evers), the Netherlands.
Objective:
eHealth is a useful tool to deliver lifestyle interventions for patients with cardiometabolic diseases. However, there are inconsistent findings about whether these eHealth interventions should be supported by a human professional, or whether self-help interventions are equally effective.
Methods:
Databases were searched between January 1995 and October 2021 for randomized controlled trials on cardiometabolic diseases (cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus) and eHealth lifestyle interventions. A multilevel meta-analysis was used to pool clinical and behavioral health outcomes. Moderator analyses assessed the effect of intervention type (self-help versus human-supported), dose of human support (minor versus major part of intervention), and delivery mode of human support (remote versus blended). One hundred seven articles fulfilled eligibility criteria and 102 unique ( N = 20,781) studies were included.
Results:
The analysis showed a positive effect of eHealth lifestyle interventions on clinical and behavioral health outcomes ( p < .001). However, these effects were not moderated by intervention type ( p = .169), dose ( p = .698), or delivery mode of human support ( p = .557).
Conclusions:
This shows that self-help eHealth interventions are equally effective as human-supported ones in improving health outcomes among patients with cardiometabolic disease. Future studies could investigate whether higher-quality eHealth interventions compensate for a lack of human support.Meta-analysis registration: PROSPERO CRD42021269263 .
Related Concept Videos
Lifestyle Factors and Health
Benefits of Physical Activity
Physical activity, whether through structured exercise or casual activities like walking, biking, or dancing, is a cornerstone of a...
Cardiomyopathy V: Interprofessional Care
Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques VI
Motivation and Self-Determination
Motivation, the driving force behind behavior, plays a pivotal role at every stage of the change process. The research...
Atherosclerosis III: Management
Acute Coronary Syndrome IV: Interprofessional Care
Hypertension IV: Drug Therapy and Lifestyle Modifications

