Table 1.
Inclusion criteria and database search for systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of telehealth interventions incorporating components of supported self-management.
| Criteria | Description |
| Population | Adults or children with 1 or more specified long-term conditions (diabetes mellitus type 1 or 2, heart failure, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cancer). |
| Reviews of multiple conditions included if disease-specific findings reported separately. | |
| Intervention | Telehealtha interventions to support self-managementb. |
| Comparator | “Usual care” or alternative means of delivering the intervention (eg, face-to-face, paper-based). |
| Outcomes | Markers of disease control (see Table 2). |
| Unscheduled use of health care services (see Table 2). | |
| Self-management process outcomes (see Table 2). | |
| Settings | Any health care setting. |
| Study design | Systematic reviews of RCTs. |
| Systematic reviews of multiple study designs included if RCT data reported separately. | |
| Databases | MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, AMED, Web of Science, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. |
| Manual searching | Reference lists of all eligible reviews searched. |
| Forward citations | Performed for all included systematic reviews (using Web of Science). |
| In-progress studies | Abstract used to identify recently published reviews. |
| Restrictions | No language restriction applied. |
| Dates | Initial search: January 2000 to November 2014 (limited to studies later than 2000 due to the relatively recent introduction of the technological solutions and the rapid rate of development of the field. Few studies prior to 2000 were identified in scoping search). |
| Update search: May 2016. | |
| Forward citation search: completed June 2016. | |
| Other exclusions | Less detailed versions of Cochrane reviews published (data taken from the Cochrane review). |
| Previous versions of reviews that had been subsequently updated. | |
| Reviews lacking analyses of quantitative RCT data (narrative or meta-analysis). | |
| Interventions in which there was no transfer of clinical information between patient and health care provider (eg, peer-to-peer online forums), or where evidence of this was not clear (eg, computer- or Internet-based interventions that gave or recorded information without transfer). |
aTelehealth was defined as any intervention in which clinical information is transferred remotely between patient and health care provider, regardless of the technology used to record or transmit the information.
bSelf-management was defined as any intervention that aimed to empower patients to be active decision makers who deal with emotional, social, or medical management of their illness with the aim of improving their independence and quality of life.