SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2025
Role of Digital Health on Palliative Care: Umbrella Review.
Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Cumulative multidisciplinary team messages and home death after palliative care unit discharge in advanced cancer: a prospective regional implementation cohort study.International journal of clinical oncology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDigital health (DH) provides a valuable opportunity for accessible and efficient palliative care delivery. In recent years, an expanding body of systematic reviews and meta-analyses has examined DH-based interventions in palliative care. However, their conclusions regarding effects remain inconsistent, often constrained by methodological limitations and the variable quality of primary studies, making it difficult to form a coherent appraisal.
objectiveThis umbrella review aimed to examine, appraise, and synthesize previous systematic reviews and evaluate the role of DH-based services on palliative care, and to identify barriers to using DH-based services in these settings.
methodsSystematic reviews with or without meta-analysis focusing on DH within palliative care settings were considered eligible. Seven electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wangfang, and VIP, were searched for eligible studies published from inception to April 2024. The inclusion criteria were identified based on the principles of the PICOS (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, and Study Type) framework. Two reviewers independently screened records and extracted data. Eligible studies were appraised for methodological quality using the JBI (Joanna Briggs Institute) Critical Appraisal Checklist for Systematic Reviews and Research Syntheses. A narrative synthesis, supported by tabulated summaries of the results, was used in this umbrella review.
resultsA total of 25 systematic reviews (4 with meta-analyses) published between 2012 and 2024 met our inclusion criteria, most of which were evaluated as moderate quality. Reported outcomes ranged from symptom management effectiveness to psycho-social burden (ie, mood, distress, and emotional well-being), quality of life, caregiver burden, decision-making, cost-effectiveness, communication, self-efficacy and self-management efficacy, resource use, family empowerment, and acceptability. The effect of DH-based interventions for palliative care was basically consistent, with all included reviews reporting either significant improvements or noninferiority of DH-based interventions as compared to usual care. Technical challenges, organizational factors, ethical concerns, resource constraints, nonverbal communication, and perceptions were considered as barriers to the use of DH-based services.
conclusionsAcross included reviews, DH was found to be beneficial or noninferior to standard care, with no reported adverse effects, supporting its safety and feasibility as a mode of service delivery. To ensure successful implementation and long-term sustainability, a multifaceted strategy is needed that integrates technological enhancements and training, organizational commitment, ethical safeguards, infrastructure development, and equitable access.
trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42024539963; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024539963.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.