Effect of Telerehabilitation on Improving Physical Activity in Cancer Patients and Survivors: A Systematic Review

Punctual rehabilitation of cancer patients or survivors has a great impact on improving their physical and mental conditions. Therefore, a proper follow up method is essentioal. This systematic review aimed to investigate the effect of telerehabilitation on improving the Physical Activity (PA) and Quality of Life (QoL) of cancer patients or survivors.

Methods and Materials: 

We conducted a systematic search on the PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases on 25th of August in 2022. A literature search was also conducted using Google search engine to identify the most recent possible evidence. This study was conducted by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) to report evidence from studies included in this systematic review. We included the studies of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that used telerehabilitation approaches to improve PA among cancer survivors and patients. These studies full text were available in English and they were considered as inclusion criteria without time limits.

Among the 12 included studies (8, 67%), a significant improvement was seen in the PA of cancer patients and survivors in the intervention group compared to the control group. However, in four studies, the PA of the patients improved in both the control and intervention groups. However, there was not any significant difference between the control and intervention groups. The QoL of the patients was evaluated in 4 of the included studies. In 3 studies, the QoL of the patients in the intervention group significantly improved compared to the control group.

All of our current findings support the idea that telerehabilitation approaches can be an effective alternative for improving PA and QoL compared to traditional cancer rehabilitation. These widespread methods may minimise barriers such as distance, time, and cost. As a result, by increasing access to care services, they may cause rapid feedback, reduce costs, and generally improve the health of cancer survivors.