Table 1.

Characteristics of the included studies and participants.

Reference	Country	Jadad score	Age (years), mean (SD)/mean (IQR)/mean (range)a	Male/totala (%)	Participants a, n	Participant characteristics	Intervention/applicationa	Follow-up time (months)	Outcomes
Linn et al, 2018 [48]	Netherlands	1+1+0+1=3	40.84 (14.51) vs 45.21(17.15)	40.4 vs 51.5	52 vs 33	Individuals diagnosed with IBDb Individuals receiving immunosuppressant or biological therapy for the first time	Telemonitoring through web or SMS text messaging vs usual care	6	Patient satisfaction Self-efficacy Medication adherence score
Ako Beng et al, 2015 [52]	United Kingdom	2+2+0+1=5	13.9 (12.1,15.9) vs 13.8 (11.2,15.3)	68 vs 57	44 vs 42	Young people (aged 8-16 years) with IBD	Teleconsulting through telephone vs usual care	12	IBD-specific QoLc Patient satisfaction
Bil Grami et al, 2019d [42]	United States	2+2+0+1=5	39.7 (13) vs 37.7 (11.6) vs 40.2 (11)	38.5 vs 47.4 vs 36.9	75 vs 72 vs 75	Adults with IBD who experienced an IBD flare within 2 years prior to the trial Individuals at least 18 years of age	Telemonitoring and tele-education through mobile phone with SMS text messaging vs standard care	12	Self-efficacy
Carlsen, 2017 [51]	Denmark	1+2+1+1=5	15.1 (1.82) vs 14.7 (2.11)	37 vs 46	27 vs 26	Children and adolescents, 10-17 years old, diagnosed as having IBD	Telemonitoring through web-based applications, SMS text messaging, and phone call vs standard care	24	Number of clinic visits per patient
Cross et al, 2012 [39]	United States	2+2+0+1=5	41.7 (13.9) vs 40.3 (14.4)	40 vs 32	25 vs 22	Adults with ulcerative colitis	Telemonitoring through home unit-server PC provider vs standard care	12	IBD-specific QoL Disease activity Medication adherence rate
Cross, 2018d [40]	United States	2+2+0+1=5	40.1 (13.2) vs 36.4 (11.5) vs 40.1 (11.7)	41.7 vs 43.1 vs 45.3	115 vs 116 vs 117	Adults ≥18 years of age diagnosed as having IBD who experienced at least one IBD flare in the 2 years prior to the baseline visit	Telemonitoring and tele-education through mobile phone with SMS text messaging vs standard care	12	IBD-specific QoL Disease activity Remission rate
De Jong, 2017[47]	Netherlands	2+2+0+1=5	44.0 (±14.1) vs 44.1 (14.2)	42 vs 41	465 vs 444	Outpatients aged 18-75 years with IBD and without an ileoanal or ileorectal pouch anastomosis	Telemonitoring through web-based applications on a tablet or smartphone vs standard care	12	IBD-specific QoL Number of outpatient visits per patient Medication adherence rate Self-efficacy
Del Hoyo et al, 2018 and 2019 [18,53]	Spain	2+2+0+1=5	41.32(19-66) vs 40.91(24-60) vs 39.31(22-61)	42.9 vs 57.1 vs 57.1	21 vs 21 vs 21	Adults ≥18 years of age diagnosed as having IBD for at least 6 months Patients who had complex IBD when immunosuppressants or biologic agents were initiated	Telemonitoring through a web-based system with smartphone apps or a tablet or through the telephone vs standard care	6	IBD-specific QoL Remission rate Disease activity Generic QoL Medication adherence score and rate Patient satisfaction
Elkjaer et al, 2010 [12]	Denmark and Ireland	2+2+2+1=7	Denmark: 40 (21-69) vs 44 (21-69) Ireland: 41 (18-66) vs 46 (19-65)	Denmark: 49.5 vs 31.1 Ireland: 60.8 vs 41.5	Denmark: 105 vs 106 Ireland: 51 vs 41	Patients aged 18-69 years who met the international diagnostic criteria for mild to moderate ulcerative colitis and were treated with 5-aminosalicylic acid	Tele-education through web-based applications vs usual care	12	Medication adherence rate Remission rate Number of clinic visits
Heida et al, 2017 [46]	Netherlands	2+2+0+1=5	15 (12-16) vs 15 (13-17)	64 vs 45	84 vs 86	Patients aged 10-19 years with IBD in clinical remission at baseline Patients diagnosed as having IBD more than 6 months before enrolment	Telemonitoring through web-based applications, email, and phone calls vs usual care	13	IBD-specific QoL Remission rate
Hunt et al, 2017 [44]	United States	0+0+0+1=1	36 (10) (total participants)	20.6 (total participants)	32 vs 31	Patients at least 18 years old who self-reported a previous diagnosis of IBD, according to a medical professional’s feedback for IBD patients Patients with secondary irritable bowel syndrome or with a known psychological risk factor for poor health-related QoL in chronic gastrointestinal tract disorders	Tele-education through cognitive behavioral therapy delivered online vs usual care	1.5	IBD-specific QoL Disease activity Depression
Krier et al, 2011 [45]	United States	1+2+1+1=5	62.8 (11.5) vs 58.5 (9.6)	87 vs 68	15 vs 19	Patients with IBD who underwent 57 encounters in 9 months	Teleconsulting through real-time image vs standard care	9	Patient satisfaction
McCombie et al, 2020 [49]	New Zealand	2+2+0+1=5	35.2 (12.4) vs 34.3 (12.9)	52 vs 46	50 vs 50	Patients who were 16 years or older with confirmed IBD and who had at least 2 outpatient appointments and <3 disease flares in the past 12 months	Telemonitoring through smartphone apps vs standard care	12	IBD-specific QoL
McCombie et al, 2016 [50]	New Zealand	2+0+0+1=3	38.3 (12.8) vs 39.6 (11.8)	33.6 vs 38.4	113 vs 86	All adults with IBD aged 18 to 65 years	Tele-education through computerized cognitive behavioral therapy vs usual care	6	IBD-specific QoL Generic QoL Depression
Miloh et al, 2017 [43]	United States	1+1+1+0=3	—	—	21 vs 30	Children with IBD who were 8 years and older	Telemonitoring through SMS text messaging vs standard care	12	Medication adherence rate Disease activity Number of clinic visits per patient
Ozgur Soy et al, 2019 [13]	Turkey	2+2+2+1=7	37.26(12.99) vs 41.63(11.85)	56.7 vs 60	30 vs 30	Adults aged 18 years or over who were diagnosed as having IBD for 6 months	Tele-education through web-based applications on the computer or phone vs standard care	2	IBD-specific QoL Remission rate
Schliep et al, 2020d [41]	United States	2+2+0+1=5	37.3 (11.6) vs 39.3 (13.4) vs 39.5 (12.0)	45 vs 40.5 vs 37.5	71 vs 74 vs 72	Adults who were ≥18 years of age, were diagnosed as having IBD, and experienced at least one IBD flare in the 2 years prior to the baseline visit (an increase in IBD symptoms sufficient to warrant a change in medication dose or addition of a medication)	Telemonitoring and tele-education through a mobile phone with SMS text messaging vs standard care	12	Depressive symptoms Generic QoL

^aThese items were recorded as experimental vs control group.

^bIBD: inflammatory bowel disease.

^cQoL: quality of life.

^dThese studies came from the same clinical trial but reported different outcomes.