1 Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri , Columbia, Missouri.
2 Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Missouri , Columbia, Missouri.
Telemed J E Health. 2017 Aug;23(8):621-629. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2016.0183. Epub 2017 Feb 28.
Family caregivers are socially isolated and burdened as they care for their loved one, often for many years. Internet support groups can address some of the barriers related to the social isolation, self-efficacy, and burden experienced during caregiving by connecting individuals with similar problems to one another. The purpose of the meta-analysis was to analyze the effect of Internet-based group support interventions on social support, self-efficacy, and burden.
A two-step search process was used to identify peer reviewed evidence to answer the research question. Multiple databases, including MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and several others, were searched to identify systematic reviews from which to identify the final articles for data extraction.
Seven systematic reviews identified 10 studies to answer the research question. A statistically significant effect was found from the interventions targeting social support and self-efficacy. We were unable to assess the effect of these interventions on caregiver burden due to the variance in measurement constructs.
While it has been found that Internet group support interventions have a positive effect on social support and self-efficacy, the size and quality of studies are moderate, and thus, large-scale randomized controlled trials are needed for a higher level of evidence.
照顾者在照顾亲人时会感到社交孤立和负担过重，这种情况通常会持续多年。互联网支持小组可以通过将有类似问题的个人联系在一起，解决一些与社交孤立、自我效能感和照顾负担相关的障碍。本荟萃分析的目的是分析基于互联网的小组支持干预措施对社会支持、自我效能感和负担的影响。
采用两步搜索过程来确定同行评审证据，以回答研究问题。我们检索了多个数据库，包括 MEDLINE、Cochrane 系统评价数据库、CINAHL、PsycINFO 等，以确定可从中识别出最终文章进行数据提取的系统评价。
7 项系统评价确定了 10 项研究来回答研究问题。针对社会支持和自我效能的干预措施具有统计学显著效果。由于测量结构的差异，我们无法评估这些干预措施对照顾者负担的影响。
虽然已经发现互联网小组支持干预措施对社会支持和自我效能感有积极影响，但研究的规模和质量中等，因此需要进行大规模的随机对照试验以获得更高水平的证据。
