. 2023 Dec;17(6):1725-1750.

doi: 10.1007/s11764-022-01181-4. Epub 2022 Feb 26.

The influence of telehealth-based cancer rehabilitation interventions on disability: a systematic review

Rachelle Brick¹, Lynne Padgett², Jennifer Jones³, Kelley Covington Wood⁴, Mackenzi Pergolotti⁴, Timothy F Marshall⁵, Grace Campbell^{6

7}, Rachel Eilers⁸, Sareh Keshavarzi^{9

10}, Ann Marie Flores^{11

12

13}, Julie K Silver^{14

15

16

17}, Aneesha Virani¹⁸, Alicia A Livinski¹⁹, Mohammed Faizan Ahmed³, Tiffany Kendig⁴, Bismah Khalid²⁰, Jeremy Barnett²¹, Anita Borhani³, Graysen Bernard³, Kathleen Doyle Lyons²²

Affiliations

¹ Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA. rachelle.brick@nih.gov.
² VA Central Office, Health Services Research and Development, 1100 1st St NE, Suite 6, Washington, DC, 20002, USA.
³ Cancer Rehabilitation and Survivorship Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, 200 Elizabeth Sr. PMB-B-045, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C4, Canada.
⁴ ReVital Cancer Rehabilitation, Select Medical, 4714 Gettysburg Road, Mechanicsburg, PA, 17055, USA.
⁵ Ivy Rehab Network, 1311 Mamaroneck Ave, Suite 140, White Plains, NY, 10605, USA.
⁶ Duquesne University School of Nursing, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15282, USA.
⁷ Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at UPMC Magee, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 300 Halket Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
⁸ Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Bridgeside Point I, 100 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, USA.
⁹ Department of Biostatistics, Princess Margaret Cancer Center, 610 University Ave, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹⁰ Biostatistics Division, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College St, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹¹ Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
¹² Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 645 North Michigan Avenue, 11th Floor, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
¹³ Department of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 645 North Michigan Avenue, 11th Floor, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁵ Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁶ Brigham and Women's Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁷ Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Rehabilitation Services, Northside Hospital, 1000 Johnson Ferry Road, Atlanta, GA, 30342, USA.
¹⁹ National Institutes of Health Library, Office of Research Services, OD, NIH, MSC 1150, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
²⁰ Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, 500 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 1VT, Canada.
²¹ George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2300 I St. NW, Washington, DC, 20052, USA.
²² Department of Occupational Therapy, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Charlestown Navy Yard, Building 79/96, 79 13th Street, Boston, MA, 02129, USA.

PMID: 35218521
PMCID: PMC8881759
DOI: 10.1007/s11764-022-01181-4

The influence of telehealth-based cancer rehabilitation interventions on disability: a systematic review

Rachelle Brick et al. J Cancer Surviv. 2023 Dec.

. 2023 Dec;17(6):1725-1750.

doi: 10.1007/s11764-022-01181-4. Epub 2022 Feb 26.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA. rachelle.brick@nih.gov.
² VA Central Office, Health Services Research and Development, 1100 1st St NE, Suite 6, Washington, DC, 20002, USA.
³ Cancer Rehabilitation and Survivorship Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, 200 Elizabeth Sr. PMB-B-045, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C4, Canada.
⁴ ReVital Cancer Rehabilitation, Select Medical, 4714 Gettysburg Road, Mechanicsburg, PA, 17055, USA.
⁵ Ivy Rehab Network, 1311 Mamaroneck Ave, Suite 140, White Plains, NY, 10605, USA.
⁶ Duquesne University School of Nursing, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15282, USA.
⁷ Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at UPMC Magee, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 300 Halket Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
⁸ Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Bridgeside Point I, 100 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, USA.
⁹ Department of Biostatistics, Princess Margaret Cancer Center, 610 University Ave, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹⁰ Biostatistics Division, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College St, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹¹ Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
¹² Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 645 North Michigan Avenue, 11th Floor, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
¹³ Department of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 645 North Michigan Avenue, 11th Floor, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁵ Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁶ Brigham and Women's Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁷ Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Rehabilitation Services, Northside Hospital, 1000 Johnson Ferry Road, Atlanta, GA, 30342, USA.
¹⁹ National Institutes of Health Library, Office of Research Services, OD, NIH, MSC 1150, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
²⁰ Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, 500 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 1VT, Canada.
²¹ George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2300 I St. NW, Washington, DC, 20052, USA.
²² Department of Occupational Therapy, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Charlestown Navy Yard, Building 79/96, 79 13th Street, Boston, MA, 02129, USA.

PMID: 35218521
PMCID: PMC8881759
DOI: 10.1007/s11764-022-01181-4

Abstract

Purpose: To characterize delivery features and explore effectiveness of telehealth-based cancer rehabilitation interventions that address disability in adult cancer survivors.

Methods: A systematic review of electronic databases (CINAHL Plus, Cochrane Library: Database of Systematic Reviews, Embase, National Health Service's Health Technology Assessment, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science) was conducted in December 2019 and updated in April 2021.

Results: Searches identified 3,499 unique studies. Sixty-eight studies met inclusion criteria. There were 81 unique interventions across included studies. Interventions were primarily delivered post-treatment and lasted an average of 16.5 weeks (SD = 13.1). They were most frequently delivered using telephone calls (59%), administered delivered by nursing professionals (35%), and delivered in a one-on-one format (88%). Risk of bias of included studies was primarily moderate to high. Included studies captured 55 measures of disability. Only 54% of reported outcomes had data that allowed calculation of effect sizes ranging -3.58 to 15.66.

Conclusions: The analyses suggest small effects of telehealth-based cancer interventions on disability, though the heterogeneity seen in the measurement of disability makes it hard to draw firm conclusions. Further research using more diverse samples, common measures of disability, and pragmatic study designs is needed to advance telehealth in cancer rehabilitation.

Implications for cancer survivors: Telehealth-based cancer rehabilitation interventions have the potential to increase access to care designed to reduce disability across the cancer care continuum.

Keywords: Cancer rehabilitation; Disability; Function; Intervention; Neoplasm; Telehealth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Drs. Pergolotti and Covington, and Tiffany Kendig report personal fees from Select Medical, ReVital Cancer Rehab outside the submitted work. Julie K. Silver has participated in research funded by the Binational Scientific Foundation and is a venture partner for Third Culture Capital outside of the work submitted. Aneesha Virani receives salary for full-time employment at Northside Hospital for work outside of submitted work. Aneesha Virani reports participating in research funded by the American Speech & Hearing Foundation for work outside of this project. Grace Campbell reports funding from the National Institute of Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. Kathleen D. Lyons reports participating in research funded by the National Cancer Institute for work outside of this project. All other authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 2**
Forest plots of most commonly reported functional outcome measures with available data increase font of each section of figure

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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The influence of telehealth-based cancer rehabilitation interventions on disability: a systematic review

Affiliations

The influence of telehealth-based cancer rehabilitation interventions on disability: a systematic review

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical

Miscellaneous