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The Effect of Ict on Social Support in Healthcare: a Systematic Review
Abstract
Background: With increased popularity in the use of ICT in healthcare to provide support to individuals, it is imperative to investigate the impact of ICT on social support measures in health and social care. Objective: This study aims to review literature on the effectiveness of ICT-based tools and intervention on social support measures with reference to health and illness. Methods: Relevant databases (PubMed \MEDLINE, clinicaltrials.gov and Cochrane Library) were systematically searched using a combination of key search terms. To be included in the review, studies had to be published in English language, be published between 2000 and 2017, apply ICT intervention on a health-related condition and report the effect of ICT on social support measures. Results: The database search produced 4,226 articles. After screening, 30 eligible papers were selected for the review. The studies were quite heterogeneous in terms of study design, age of participants, reported outcome, outcome measuring tool and health condition of participants. 20% of included studies were rated as low -quality evidence, wi th a high risk of research bias. Over 75% of reviewed studies reported a positive impact of ICT on social support measures. The results show that ICT interventions have a statistically significant positive impact on social support measures. Social network was found to have the most impact on social support measures. Conclusion: There is need for more high -quality research on the effect of ICT on social support measures. The results of this systematic review suggest that ICT could effectively provide social support to individuals, although the degree of its effect could depend on the nature of ICT tool used and the well-being status of individuals. Further work in the use of ICT to provide social support for preventive healthcare is recommended. Also, more re search investigating the effect of Smartphone -based instant messaging applications (such as WhatsApp and Snapchat) and virtual reality technology on social support is encouraged.
Keywords
Social support
ICT intervention
Health
Impact
Social network
Internet
Declarations & Ethics
Funding:
This research received academic dissemination support through ESCAP / JournalsHub publishing programs.
Conflicts of Interest:
The authors declare no competing financial or institutional interests.
Peer Review:
Double-blind peer reviewed by international subject specialists.
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
How to Cite This Article
APA / MLA / BibTeX
Nnabuko, et al. (2018). The Effect of Ict on Social Support in Healthcare: a Systematic Review. IADIS International Journal on Computer Science and Information Systems, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.33965/ijcsis_2018_v13i1_03
Nnabuko, et al. "The Effect of Ict on Social Support in Healthcare: a Systematic Review." IADIS International Journal on Computer Science and Information Systems, vol. 13, no. 1, 2018. https://doi.org/10.33965/ijcsis_2018_v13i1_03
Nnabuko, et al. "The Effect of Ict on Social Support in Healthcare: a Systematic Review." IADIS International Journal on Computer Science and Information Systems 13, no. 1 (2018). https://doi.org/10.33965/ijcsis_2018_v13i1_03