Publicatie

Publicatie datum

The effectiveness of self-guided web-based physical activity interventions among patients with a chronic disease: a systematic review.

Bossen, D., Veenhof, C., Dekker, J., Bakker, D. de. The effectiveness of self-guided web-based physical activity interventions among patients with a chronic disease: a systematic review. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport: 2012, 15(Suppl. 1), p. S202. Abstract. Be Active 2012: 4th International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health. 1 november 2012, Sydney.
Background: Despite well documented health benefits, adults with a chronic condition do not meet the recommended physical activity (PA) guidelines. Therefore, secondary prevention programs focusing on PA are needed. The internet has become a popular medium for the delivery of PA interventions. In particular, web-based programs have shown promise in PA behaviour change. Objective: This systematic review summarizes the evidence about the effectiveness of web-based PA interventions in adults with chronic disease. Methods: A literature search of several electronically databases was performed. Articles that evaluated a web-based PA intervention and used a controlled design were included. Moreover, studies were eligible for inclusion if they used a non- or minimal-treatment control group and if PA outcomes measures were applied. Two reviewers independently assessed methodological quality and extracted data from the included studies. Results were analysed using a best-evidence synthesis based on methodological quality. Results: Seven articles were included. Five out of seven studies were graded as high methodological quality and two were classified as low quality. The majority of the study population had a sedentary lifestyle and all patients were diagnosed with a chronic disease, such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes mellitus 2 or heart failure. Three out of seven interventions were superior to the non or minimal treatment. Although web-based programs showed better results than non-or minimal treatment, results did not attain statistical significance. Conclusions: Although a trend toward positive effects was identified in favor of the intervention groups, our best evidence synthesis revealed that there is conflicting evidence on the effectiveness of web-based PA interventions in patients with a chronic disease. The inconsistent results may have been attributable to a lack of power, since the number of patients was small and the percentage dropout was notably high. (aut. ref.)