WhatsApp-assisted health education intervention

Abstract

The acknowledgment of social media as a strategy in health education is essential, providing benefits to health promotion and the prevention and treatment of comorbidities. This study assessed the contribution of WhatsApp use on the prognosis of medical conditions and its impact on enhancing the quality of life. The review protocol used PubMed and Web of Science as databases, followed PRISMA-E 2012 guidelines, was registered in PROSPERO (Nº2021232688), and its risk of bias was analyzed Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing the risk of bias. Thirteen impact studies (n = 1653 participants) were selected and showed evidence on metabolic parameters such as reducing blood pressure (7.6%); body mass index-BMI (7.6%); glycated haemoglobin-HbA1c (15.4%); resting heart rate (7.6%); increase in static balance increase on balance (7.6%) and reduced body weight (7.6%). Furthermore, specific findings on each intervention were demonstrated, such as diminished rates of relapse in substance users (7.6%); increased populational knowledge on chronic diseases (23%) associated with a decrease in the potential complications (7.6%), and a rise on treatment adhesion (7.6%); impact on the follow-up of pregnant patients (7.6%) and progress on oral hygiene (15.4%). Therefore, it was concluded that this intervention strategy demonstrated significant magnitude in reducing the progression and complication of the assessed disorders.