SMARTPHONE INTERVENTIONS FOR CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE

Introduction: People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) need support strategies to help them monitor their illness and participate in their own health management. Therefore, smartphones and health-related applications can play an important role as monitors with attached sensors, realiable information providers, and 24 hour enabled communication channels. Objective: To determine the current state of research of smartphone use in COPD. Methods: The research on PubMed® was performed on December 2015, using the terms [internet, phone, smartphone, mhealth, social media, text messages, apps] combined with [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]. Studies were included if they described a smartphone intervention targeted adults diagnosed with COPD, focused on self-management, frequency of exacerbations and lifestyle modification, in the last 5 years. Results: Of the 488 papers identified, 2 met inclusion criteria, both being randomized controlled trials. The first study demonstrated an increase in the daily activity level of COPD patients after a 4 week period using a smartphone application providing motivational cues for exercise. The second study demonstrated greater improvement in self-efficacy for managing dyspnea and greater perceived levels of support at an exercise program by the intervention group, wearing a smartphone and web diary for self-management of COPD during 12 months; there were no differences in dyspnea with activities, exercise behaviour, performance and health-related quality of life across groups in this study. Conclusions: Smartphone strategies can provide a viable option for facilitating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease self-management. Further research is needed to develop more precise and complete applications aiming this chronic disease.