Mobile applications offering non-pharmacological therapies aimed at improving the quality of life of cancer patients: a scoping review.
Cristiano de Oliveira Ribeiro, Leonel Dos Santos Silva, Lourdes Maria Rosinski Lima Gomes and 3 others
PMID 41370539WHAT IT FOUND
Seven studies mapped apps delivering mindfulness, guided imagery or Tai Chi to cancer patients; most reported less anxiety and depression and some quality of life gains.
The review does not prove which app or therapy caused the benefit.
Key findings
01Seven studies were included in the final sample, and five of them were randomized clinical trials.
02Mindfulness-based interventions were used in six included studies, and Headspace was mentioned in two studies.
03The included studies reported reduced anxiety and depression and improved HRQoL, but an app-based mindfulness study found no effect on HRQoL.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only seven studies were included, so the evidence map is small. The search did not include grey literature, and many records were not retrieved. Exclusion may have occurred because of database limits, missing descriptors, inclusion criteria or indexing issues. The included studies used different apps, cancer types, treatments, outcomes and durations. The review did not combine results into an estimate, and it did not separate the app from the therapy content or usual care.
Declared interests
Funded by CNPq/MCTI through a research productivity grant under call 09/2022, with support from the Programa de Desenvolvimento da Pós-Graduação and Fundação Araucária. The paper does not report author conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that a mobile app improves cancer quality of life. It mapped seven studies, including an app-based mindfulness study that found no HRQoL effect, and the app, the therapy and usual care were delivered together.