Background 

Head and neck cancer (HNC) and its treatments often result in adverse effects that impair a patient’s quality of life. Although intensive rehabilitative strategies can be used, their applicability can be limited due to patient-specific and socioeconomic barriers. Telehealth interventions represent a possible novel approach to increase access to these services and improve posttreatment quality of life in the HNC population.

Objective 

The objective of this systematic review was to identify studies investigating telemedicine-based interventions for HNC patients to determine whether there is a consensus concerning the cost-effectiveness, clinical utility, and accessibility of this model for rehabilitation.

Methods 

PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and CINAHL were used to identify literature without time limit for publication. A critical appraisal of individual sources was conducted by 2 reviewers. Sixteen studies met inclusion criteria.

Results 

Studies related to telehealth interventions in the HNC population are limited. Salient themes included feasibility of telehealth as an intervention, effects on self-management and knowledge, impact on quality of life, physical and psychiatric symptoms, and cost.

Conclusion 

Although the current literature presents promising data, indicating that telehealth interventions may be both effective and cost-efficient in the management of HNC patients, more research is needed to definitively elucidate their role in management.

Implications for Practice 

Telehealth interventions are valuable for clinicians as an alternative to expand access to care across the cancer continuum, to strengthen patients’ knowledge and consequently their self-management, and to provide continuity of services as well as for remote monitoring of symptoms and response to treatment.

中文翻译：

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头颈癌患者的远程医疗干预：系统评价

背景 

头颈癌 (HNC) 及其治疗通常会产生不良反应，损害患者的生活质量。尽管可以使用强化康复策略，但由于患者特定和社会经济障碍，其适用性可能受到限制。远程医疗干预措施代表了一种可能的新方法，可以增加 HNC 人群获得这些服务的机会并改善治疗后的生活质量。

客观的 

本次系统评价的目的是确定针对 HNC 患者进行基于远程医疗的干预措施的研究，以确定是否就该康复模式的成本效益、临床实用性和可及性达成共识。

方法 

使用 PubMed、EMBASE、Web of Science 和 CINAHL 来识别无发表时间限制的文献。2 位评审员对各个来源进行了严格评估。十六项研究符合纳入标准。

结果 

与 HNC 人群远程医疗干预相关的研究有限。突出的主题包括远程医疗作为干预措施的可行性、对自我管理和知识的影响、对生活质量的影响、身体和精神症状以及成本。

结论 

尽管目前的文献提供了有希望的数据，表明远程医疗干预措施在 HNC 患者的管理中可能既有效又具有成本效益，但需要更多的研究来明确阐明其在管理中的作用。

对实践的影响 

远程医疗干预对于临床医生来说是有价值的，可以作为一种替代方案，扩大癌症连续过程中获得护理的机会，加强患者的知识，从而加强患者的自我管理，提供连续性服务以及远程监测症状和治疗反应。