The Role of E-Health in Enhancing Quality of Life for Chronic Patients

Introduction: To assess the impact of e-health on the quality of life of chronic patients. The paper describes the fundamental understanding of e-health as the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in support of health and health-related fields. Since chronic diseases represent a heavy burden on most healthcare systems and the lives of patients, it is essential to explore the role e-health can play in this. Methods: This was a systematic review of the literature using electronic databases and search terms pertinent to e-health and chronic diseases. Studies including e-health interventions for patients with chronic disease and reporting quality of life outcomes were included. We identified 20 studies meeting the inclusion criteria, which included sample sizes from 20 to 900 subjects and a diversity of chronic diseases. Results: E-health interventions demonstrated a beneficial effect on the overall quality of life of chronic patients. This was manifested as improvements in physical, psychological and social well-being, disease management and self-care. The study identified that e-health interventions enhanced access to health services offered personalized support, and improved communication between patients and healthcare providers. A few studies also reported on the cost-effectiveness of e-health interventions. Conclusions: This study leads us to conclude that e-health represents a remarkable opportunity to improve the quality of life of chronic patients; E-health can utilize ICT to enhance disease management, enhance reachability to healthcare solutions, and improve professional-patient interaction. There is a need for further research on the best e-health interventions for each of these conditions and on barriers to patients adopting and using e-health (some barriers are common across conditions, while others are specific to each condition). However, the results of this review can encourage us to add e-health to the health systems to have an opportunity to enhance the life quality of chronic patients.