SynthesisBMC cancer2025
Effectiveness of digital health on psychological well-being in parents of children with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in BMC cancer, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Effects of eHealth interventions on depression, anxiety, quality of life, and post-traumatic stress symptoms among parents of children with cancer: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWhen children are diagnosed with cancer, their parents often face psychological challenges such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression, impacting both their quality of life and the child’s prognosis. With advancements in information technology, digital health shows promise for providing psychological support to this group. However, its effectiveness remains unclear.
objectiveThis study aims to assess the efficacy of digital health in addressing post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression among parents of children with cancer.
methodsFull-text randomized controlled trials were reviewed in six databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CENTRAL, PsycINFO, and CINAHL Plus) from database inception to March 2025. In addition, clinical trial registries and web-based grey literature sources were searched, and relevant references were manually reviewed. Two authors independently screened studies and extracted relevant data. Methodological quality was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias version 2.0 (RoB 2) tool. Standardized mean differences and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using Review Manager 5.4 to estimate intervention effects. Additionally, subgroup analyses were conducted to assess potential sources of heterogeneity, while sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate the robustness of the findings.
resultsNine randomized controlled trials with a total of 727 participants were included. The meta-analysis revealed that digital health improved post-traumatic stress disorder [SMD= -0.37, 95%CI -0.61, -0.13, P = 0.003], anxiety [SMD= -0.42, 95%CI -0.65, -0.18, P<0.001], and depression [SMD= -0.47, 95% CI -0.62, -0.32, P<0.001] among parents of children with cancer. Subgroup analysis indicated that both intervention format (websites vs. apps) and intervention duration (≤ 10 weeks vs. >10 weeks) had a positive impact on post-traumatic stress disorder and depression in this population. Notably, for anxiety outcomes, app interventions and extended-duration protocols (> 10 weeks) demonstrated superior efficacy. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings.
conclusionsDigital health demonstrates promise in ameliorating post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression among parents of children with cancer. Larger, high-quality prospective studies are needed to validate these findings.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.