Completeness of Telehealth Interventions Reporting in Randomized Controlled Trials for Caregivers of People With Dementia: Systematic Review

BackgroundTelehealth interventions can effectively support caregivers of people with dementia by providing care and improving their health outcomes. However, to successfully translate research into clinical practice, the content and details of the interventions must be suffic...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ling Zhu, Yurong Xing, Wenhui Xu, Hongfei Jia, Xiaoxiao Wang, Shiqing Liu, Yaping Ding
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Medical Internet Research
Online Access:https://www.jmir.org/2025/1/e53737
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Summary:BackgroundTelehealth interventions can effectively support caregivers of people with dementia by providing care and improving their health outcomes. However, to successfully translate research into clinical practice, the content and details of the interventions must be sufficiently reported in published papers. ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the completeness of a telehealth intervention reporting in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted for caregivers of people with dementia. MethodsA systematic search of relevant papers was conducted on July 26, 2023, in 9 electronic databases. RCTs of telehealth interventions for caregivers of people with dementia were included. Two independent researchers extracted the descriptive information and assessed the methodological quality (Cochrane risk of bias tool) and the completeness of reporting of the intervention by using the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR)-Telehealth checklist, which consists of 12 items. ResultsThirty-eight eligible RCTs were included finally, and the overall quality of the studies was assessed as moderate. None of the studies completely reported all the TIDieR-Telehealth items. The most frequently reported items were the brief trial name (35/38, 92%), rationale (38/38, 100%), materials and procedures (35/38, 92%), and the modes of delivery (34/38, 90%). The least reported items were the type of location (0/38, 0%), modifications (4/38, 11%), and assessment and improvement of fidelity (9/38, 24%). ConclusionsMany details of the telehealth interventions in RCTs are reported incompletely. Greater adherence to the TIDieR-Telehealth checklist is essential for improving the reporting quality and for facilitating replicability, which has substantial implications for translation into clinical practice.
ISSN:1438-8871