eHealth Solutions for Symptom Assessment and Monitoring in Adults With Chronic Kidney Disease: A Systematic Review.
Khanh Linh Bui, Louise Purtell, Areum Hyun and 1 others
PMID 40369651WHAT IT FOUND
Adults with chronic kidney disease found symptom-monitoring apps and tablets acceptable, but only some studies showed symptom or quality-of-life gains.
Use eHealth to prompt monitoring and communication, not as proven treatment.
Key findings
01Thirty-eight studies involving 4345 adults with chronic kidney disease evaluated eHealth tools for symptom assessment or monitoring.
02Depression was measured in 13 studies and 7 reported a positive effect; fatigue in 11 with 3; pain in 7 with 1; health-related quality of life in 13 with 4 positive.
03Patients and providers often found the tools acceptable and easy to use, but barriers included unfamiliarity with technology, inconvenient log-in, and concerns about missing acute symptoms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review included many different eHealth technologies, outcomes and measurement tools, so results could not be combined statistically. 24 included studies had minor to major methodological limitations. Some randomised trials did not blind outcome assessors, and many non-randomised trials did not report confounders. The search was limited to English-language studies and may have missed non-English or unpublished work. Only 10 studies reported how privacy and data security were incorporated. Among the 24 studies that asked participants to engage over time, half reported high adherence, but few explained how engagement changed. Many studies did not consider digital health literacy, so people with limited technology skills may be underrepresented.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that eHealth tools improve symptoms or quality of life. Many studies reported no effect, and the review could not combine the results because the technologies and outcomes varied widely.