Background/Aim. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at evaluating the impact of self-care training programs based on digital health on the quality of life of burn patients.

Methods. Electronic databases such as Science Direct, Medline/PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, Google Scholar, and Cochrane library were searched independently by two researchers using the relevant keywords. The random effects model meta-analysis was carried out to compute the influence of common effect size, the standardized mean difference (SMD) on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) as the primary aim of the study. Funnel plots were drawn to assess the publication bias and I-squared index was utilized to assess the heterogeneity. Subgroup analyses were carried out accordingly. From a total of 105 studies, six studies were eligible to attend in the final meta-analysis.

Results. The results showed a significant effect of digital health compared to normal care on the overall quality of life (QOL) in burn victims (SMD 1.2, (95% CI 0.58, 1.8), P = 0.0001, I² = 92%). The I² index shows a high level of heterogeneity with a value of 92%. Subgroups analysis shows a significant effect of telemedicine compared to normal care on the overall QOL in burn victims between weeks 7 - 12 (SMD 1.7 (95% CI 0.43, 3), P = 0.009, I² = 93%), and between weeks 2 - 6 (SMD 1.4 (95% CI 0.5, 2.3), P = 0.002, I² = 89%) and > 13 weeks (SMD 0.09 (95% CI -0.17, 0.35), P = 0.5, I² = 0%).

Conclusion. According to the presented results, it seems that new digital technologies have brought benefits including a positive impact on the quality of life score of burn victims.

 

Keywords: rehabilitation, digital health, burn patient, self-care, education program

 

 

 Corresponding author:
  Razieh Froutan
  e-mail: froutanr@mums.ac.ir