Effect of healthcare personnel in e-health interventions on glycated haemoglobin in adults with type 2 diabetes - a systematic review

Abstract

This systematic review shows that providing e-health with tailored HCP feedback to patients with type 2 diabetes, does not have added health benefits when the control group also receives e-health. While all of the included studies had some reduction in HbA1c levels, none of the study groups reach treatment target of HbA1c, less than 7%. Furthermore, there was no clinically relevant impact on blood pressure, low density lipoprotein or weight. The review studies were highly heterogeneous, with different characteristics of participants, interventions and control conditions. There is a need for additional high quality RCTs and subsequently systematic reviews in order to draw firm conclusions about the effect of including HCP in e-health interventions. For policy makers to assess the overall effectiveness of HCP involvement in e-health interventions, future reviews must also address other types of diabetes related outcomes. Furthermore, future primary studies must address the long-term effects of HCP involvement in e-health when it comes to cost-effectiveness and patient utilization.