Alaboson, Joan, Coffey, Laura, Shrivastava, Sowmya, Ade-Alao, Adeola and Maguire, Rebecca (2025) Impact of connected health on the psychological wellbeing and quality of life of people with multiple sclerosis and their caregivers: A systematic review. Digital Health, 11. ISSN 2055-2076
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Abstract
Connected health (CH) interventions may improve psychological wellbeing and quality of life (QoL) in caregivers and people with multiple sclerosis (MS); however, this impact has not been rigorously evaluated. This systematic review aims to synthesize the literature assessing CH technology's impact on psychological wellbeing and/or QoL of people with MS (PwMS) and/or their caregivers.
Methods
This systematic review's protocol is registered with International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) with identification number CRD42023402434. CINAHL, Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, and PsycINFO databases were searched with terms relating to (a) CH; (b) MS; (c) psychological wellbeing/QoL; and (d) caregivers/people with MS. Of 2821 screened articles, 47 met the eligibility criteria, with just three including MS caregivers.
Results
Heterogenous interventions supporting self-management ( n = 20 studies), education ( n = 17 studies), psychological ( n = 14 studies) or physical ( n = 9 studies) rehabilitation and peer support ( n = 5 studies) were found. CH technologies had mixed effectiveness in improving psychological and QoL outcomes, with results potentially impacted by technology type, intervention and target group. The study's findings have limited generalizability to improve access across sub-national locations, with no studies disaggregating between urban and rural residence and the majority conducted in the USA and Western Europe.
Conclusion
CH technologies show promise in improving psychological wellbeing and QoL among PwMS and their caregivers. However, this necessitates further study comparing connected health and MS subtypes to improve reproducibility and effectiveness.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Connected health; multiple sclerosis; quality of life; psychological wellbeing; informal caregivers; |
| Academic Unit: | Faculty of Science and Engineering > Psychology |
| Item ID: | 21367 |
| Identification Number: | 10.1177/20552076251326230 |
| Depositing User: | Rebecca Maguire |
| Date Deposited: | 30 Mar 2026 14:46 |
| Journal or Publication Title: | Digital Health |
| Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Related URLs: | |
| Use Licence: | This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here |
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