BACKGROUND
Self-care is essential for stroke survivors to recover from neurological disorders caused by stroke and to prevent recurrences. Telehealth is an emerging technology through which self-care intervention can be provided from a distance. Review-based research is needed to determine the value and development of telehealth-based self-care interventions for stroke survivors.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of telehealth interventions to support the self-care of stroke patients.
METHODS
This study was performed sequentially according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement. Whittemore and Knafl's five-stage methodology was used for the integrated review process (problem identification, literature search, data evaluation, data analysis, and presentation of the results). PubMed, Ovid-MEDLINE, Ovid-EMBASE, Cochrane Library were the databases used in consultation with a librarian on February 22, 2022. The researchers used the keywords “stroke survivor,” “telehealth,” and “self-care intervention.”
RESULTS
Twelve studies were selected using the inclusion criteria, including nine randomized controlled trials and three non-randomized controlled trials. Four attributes were identified that represented telehealth’s functions that appeared to be associated with a self-care intervention for stroke survivors. These included introducing the concept of interaction, monitoring, education, and store and forward. These self-care interventions were found to influence the behaviors of stroke survivors' self-care maintenance (physical activity and treatment adherence), self-care monitoring (blood pressure, healthy behaviors, health diet, psychological well-being, glucose control, and depression), and self-care management (sense of control, healthcare resource utilization, social integration, and support).
CONCLUSIONS
Telehealth intervention can be a suitable alternative to support self-care in stoke survivors no matter the distance according to the needs of the times. Further studies are needed to estimate the health-related outcomes and cost-effectiveness with the ongoing utilization of telehealth-based self-care intervention.