Impact of Digital Interventions on the Treatment Burden of Patients With Chronic Conditions: Protocol for a Systematic Review

Background: There is great potential for delivering cost-effective, quality health care for patients with chronic conditions through digital interventions. Managing chronic conditions often includes a substantial workload required for adhering to the treatment regimen and negative consequences on the patient's function and well-being. This treatment burden affects adherence to treatment and disease outcomes. Digital interventions can potentially exacerbate the burden but also alleviate it. Objective: The objective of this review is to identify, summarize, and synthesize the evidence of how digital interventions impact the treatment burden of people with chronic conditions. Methods: The search, selection, and data synthesis processes were designed according to the PRISMA-P (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta -Analysis Protocols) 2015. A systematic search was conducted on October 16, 2023, from databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ACM, PubMed Central, and CINAHL. Results: Preliminary searches have been conducted, and screening has been started. The review is expected to be completed in October 2024. Conclusions: As the number of patients with chronic conditions is increasing, it is essential to design new digital interventions for managing chronic conditions in a way that supports patients with their treatment burden. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed systematic review will be the first review that investigates the impact of digital interventions on the treatment burden of patients. The results of this review will contribute to the field of health informatics regarding knowledge of the treatment burden associated with digital interventions and practical implications for developing better digital health care for patients with chronic conditions.