Effect of telemedicine on the quality of life of people with heart disease: a systematic review

Abstract

Objective: to synthesize the scientific evidence on the effectiveness of telemedicine-based interventions in improving health-related quality of life and self-management of patients with heart disease. Method: systematic review of effectiveness, following the recommendations of the Joanna Briggs Institute and the reporting guideline Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Checklist. The search was conducted in six databases: Cochrane Library, Virtual Health Library, PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus, without period restriction, in English, Portuguese or Spanish. The methodological quality and risk of bias of the studies were assessed using the JBI critical appraisal tool and the certainty of the evidence was classified using the GRADE tool. Results: of the 44 randomized clinical trials included, the main interventions analyzed were telemonitoring, telephone contact and telerehabilitation. Out of the studies evaluated, 88.63% demonstrated an improvement in health-related quality of life, with 45.45% of these showing a statistically significant difference. Conclusion: telemedicine shows promise as a valuable tool for the care and self-management of individuals with cardiac conditions. However, further studies are needed to confirm its effectiveness and impact on health outcomes.