Effect of WeChat-based continuous care intervention on the somatic function, depression, anxiety, social function and cognitive function for cancer patients: Meta-analysis of 18 RCTs.
Zhuoxin Wang, Shanshan Deng, Hekai Lv and 3 others
PMID 37365734WHAT IT FOUND
Cancer patients given WeChat-based continuous care after discharge showed improved depression, anxiety, social function and cognitive function.
Somatic function was less certain.
Key findings
01Across 18 RCTs, WeChat-based continuous care programmes, which combined information, interactive communication and sometimes psychological or exercise guidance, improved depression (standardized mean difference -1.104), anxiety (-1.372), social function (0.928) and cognitive function (1.038).
02The somatic function pooled result was uncertain: standardized mean difference 1.348, I2 95.1%, and Begg test showed publication bias.
03None of the 18 trials mentioned blinding, and only 12 randomly assigned participants to groups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The search was limited to Chinese and English literature, so studies in other languages may have been missed. The review was not registered, so the outcome choices cannot be checked against a pre-specified plan. None of the 18 trials mentioned blinding, and only 12 randomly assigned participants to groups; 8 hid the assignment order so the group choice could not be seen in advance. The somatic function result had I2 95.1% and publication bias, so it is less stable than the other outcomes. Intervention content and duration varied widely, from 3 weeks to 12 months, and no trial reported how WeChat use was recorded. The pooled numbers are standardized mean differences, so they do not show how much change a patient would experience on any one scale.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The review was not registered.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the pooled positive results as proof that WeChat care causes these improvements. The trials were unblinded, the review was not registered, the intervention content varied widely, and the somatic function finding was especially uncertain.