Photo by Daniel Sone
Cancer survivors report a range of benefits and detriments related to telehealth, according to research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
Telehealth is the use of technology to provide remote, personalized healthcare to patients.
Telehealth services allow patients to have meetings and follow-up consultations with healthcare professionals either on the phone or through online services at a time that suits the patients.
Anna Cox, PhD, of the University of Surrey in the UK, and her colleagues examined 22 studies, published between 2006 and 2016, that reported cancer patients’ direct views on their experience of telehealth.
Some of the cancer survivors studied reported their appreciation of the flexibility and convenience of telehealth, which enabled them to engage with healthcare providers with minimum disruption to their lives and in a comfortable, familiar environment.
“Our research found that cancer survivors wanted to get back to their daily lives as quickly as possible,” Dr Cox said. “Telehealth helped facilitate this, as it removed the often burdensome visits to hospital and enabled the integration of care into daily routines.”
However, not all subjects viewed telehealth as a convenience. Of the Internet-based interventions studied, 2 were perceived as an extra burden, and 1 was considered too time-consuming.
In addition, some study participants viewed telehealth as an impersonal service that did not allow them to meet their healthcare team in person.
On the other hand, the invisibility and perceived anonymity that telehealth provided sometimes reduced cancer survivors’ sense of vulnerability and enabled them to raise concerns remotely that they would not have wanted to discuss face-to-face.
And, in 8 different studies, subjects said telehealth had educated them about ways they could improve or manage their symptoms, or it had raised their awareness of potential issues they might experience.
Unfortunately, some of the cancer survivors studied said they were unable to use telehealth due to personal circumstances, such as hearing issues and lack of computer literacy skills.
“For many cancer survivors, telehealth supported their independence and offered them reassurance,” Dr Cox noted. “However, it is all down to personal preference, as some cancer survivors still preferred traditional methods of care.”
