The Efficacy of Internet-Based Interventions in Family-Centered Empowerment Among Children with Chronic Diseases: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: The incidence of chronic diseases in children is increasing worldwide, which can disrupt the quality of life. Family empowerment (FE) is one approach to strengthen family care among children with chronic diseases. In addition, internet has the potential in healthcare service interventions for families. Purpose: This study aimed to determine the efficacy of internet-based family empowerment interventions among children with chronic diseases. Methods: The study used a mixed-methods systematic review. A literature review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines using the PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and CINAHL databases. We used the PCC framework: chronic diseases (Population), family empowerment (Concept), and internet-based intervention (Context). Studies were eligible if published between 2013 and 2023, full-text, original study design, and focused on family empowerment in children with chronic diseases. Studies would be excluded if they were not in English or if the population was adults. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) version 2018. The study analysis used Sequential Explanatory Synthesis, which is a quantitative study (QUAN) synthesis followed by a qualitative study (QUAL) synthesis, then integrated using the QUAL data transformation technique. Results: We highlight the quantitative study findings that an internet-based family empowerment intervention positively impacted family members’ ability to care for children with chronic diseases with a mean Family Empowerment Scale (FES) total score of 4.13. We analyzed six study and identified four themes regarding efficacy of internet-based interventions in empowering families with children with chronic diseases: knowledge; availability of resources and time-saving; connectedness and communication; and family management and self-confidence. Conclusion: Our study highlights that online-based interventions in family empowerment positively impact enhancing all domains of empowerment. This findings suggest that internet-based family interventions need to be adopted to fulfill the care needs of children with chronic diseases sustainably.