# eHealth tools to improve the health-related quality of life of family caregivers of cancer patients in developing countries: a systematic review protocol

## TL;DR

This paper outlines a systematic review protocol to assess how eHealth tools affect the quality of life of cancer caregivers in developing countries.

## Contribution

It introduces a systematic review protocol focused on eHealth interventions for caregivers in developing countries, a previously underexplored area.

## Key findings

- The review will evaluate eHealth interventions accessible to cancer caregivers in developing countries.
- It will assess the impact of these interventions on health-related quality of life using rigorous systematic methods.
- The study will identify knowledge gaps and guide future research and policy.

## Abstract

ehealth improves the health-related quality of life for cancer patients and their families by providing easier access to medical information, promoting self-management, and providing personalised care through digital platforms. However, there is still a dearth of comprehensive understanding of their influences in developing countries.

To identify several ehealth interventions accessible to family caregivers of people with cancer in developing countries and to assess the impact of these interventions on their health-related quality of life.

The review will adhere to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocols. Health databases and search engines, including PubMed, Medline via Ovid, Embase via Ovid, and CINAHL via EBSCOhost, will be used. We will include quantitative or mixed method research evaluating e-health, with a particular emphasis on the health-related quality of life of family caregivers of cancer patients. Studies from developing countries, including peer-reviewed journals and grey literature, will be considered without regard to publication date.

The study selection process involves screening titles and abstracts for relevance, then, doing a full-text assessment against the inclusion criteria. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for randomised controlled trials and ROBINS-I V2 for non-randomised studies will be employed to assess the quality of the included studies. The A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews will assess the quality of this systematic review.

This review offers a thorough and impartial summary of current research on e-health tools and their impact on the health-related quality of life of family caregivers of cancer patients. It seeks to inform evidence-based decision-making across healthcare, policy development, and research design by identifying knowledge gaps, emphasising areas requiring further investigation, and steering future research.

PROSPERO CRD42024622302

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024622302