An evaluation of the impact of mHealth interventions on patients’ attendance to treatment for three common ophthalmic diseases that cause blindness: a systematic review

Madi, Meftah Mohamed Mohamed

An evaluation of the impact of mHealth interventions on patients’ attendance to treatment for three common ophthalmic diseases that cause blindness: a systematic review

Master Thesis

2018

Abstract

Background: Ophthalmic diseases are those that affect the eye, including cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. These diseases can lead to blindness and vision loss, especially at advanced stages. Cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy are the most common ophthalmic diseases that cause blindness. Patients encounter challenges with attendance to appointments for treatment because they may forget the date, time and/or place of the surgery. mHealth interventions are a means of addressing the challenge of patients missing appointments. This study reviews the use of mHealth reminders to improve patients’ attendance to ophthalmic disease treatment. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to assess the literature from various databases including; PubMed, Scopus, (Africa-Wide Information, CINAHL, Computers & Applied Sciences Complete, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition by Ebscohost) and Web of Science. We searched different sources for grey literature including; Google.com, Open Grey, New York Academy of Medicine, WHO, Cochran library, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. The interventions were limited to SMS and telephone calls. Studies were considered eligible if they were randomized control trials (RCT), prospective or retrospective cohort studies, cross-sectional studies, or if they reported on outcomes primarily related to patient attendance to ophthalmic disease appointments. Results: Ten studies that met the eligibility criteria were included in the systematic review. The study setting included developed countries and low-and-middle-income countries (LMIC). Sixty percent of these studies were conducted in LMIC, while forty percent were conducted in developed countries. Eighty percent of the study participants were older than 55 years and the mean age of participants was 61.5 years. Both male and female participants were included, with approximately fifty nine percent of them being female. Discussion: The assessment of the literature highlighted that mHealth reminders resulted in significant improvement in patient attendance to treatment for the three common ophthalmic diseases. The mHealth platform was particularly relevant in LMIC, and SMS was the most successful intervention. Women were the major users of mHealth tools to gain access to services. Conclusion: This systematic review aimed to inform healthcare workers and decision makers in the health system on the use of mobile phone messaging as reminders to improve patient attendance to the three common ophthalmic diseases treatments that cause blindness. The evidence obtained from the systematic review will bring new opportunities for further research regarding the use of mHealth interventions as reminders for treatment adherence in general and ophthalmic diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.

Reference:

Collections

Masters

Full item page