Aims To synthesize evidences on smartphone application–based intervention and determine its effectiveness on glycaemic control, self‐management behaviours, psychological well‐being, quality of life and cardiometabolic risk factors. Design A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Data sources Major English and Chinese electronic databases were searched from January 2008 to January 2021, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Google Scholar, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang and Sinomed. Review methods RCTs were screened and selected if they used smartphone applications to support patients in the self‐management of diabetes. Data extraction and methodological assessment were performed by two reviewers independently. Meta‐analysis was performed to pool the intervention effect on outcomes of interest using RevMan 5.3. Results Across 19 included trials involving 2585 participants, smartphone application–based interventions were associated with a clinically and statistically significant reduction of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). Beneficial effects were also observed in participants’ behavioural performance, especially in medication adherence. Intervention effects on psychological status, quality of life and cardiometabolic risk factors were nonsignificant. Subgroup analysis showed interactive approach with medium frequency or flexible facilitator–patient interaction induced a larger effect on HbA1c reduction. Besides, patients with baseline HbA1c ≥9% benefited more than those with HbA1c <9% from the use of smartphone applications. Conclusions Smartphone application–based diabetes self‐management intervention could optimize patients’ glycaemic control and enhance participants’ self‐management performance. Further endeavour is required to examine the long‐term effects and cost‐effectiveness of smartphone application–based intervention before promoting the adoption and dissemination of such intervention. Impact This review supports the potential of smartphone application–based intervention as effective approach to optimize glycaemic control and promote self‐management engagement among patients with type 2 diabetes. Suggestions for future research and practice are provided and discussed.

No abstract

According to World Health Organization (WHO) statistics on the cumulative risk of incidence, 1 in 8 men and 1 in 10 women will develop cancer in a lifetime (Bray et al., 2018). Cancer is a life-threatening disease. A diagnosis may cause physical suffering, psychological distress and disruption of social support. Cancer patients suffer from many symptoms such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, pain and therapy-related symptoms. The symptoms may disturb treatment processes, affect clinical outcomes and lead to poor quality of life. Current treatments to relieve these symptoms include pharmacotherapy as well as non-pharmacological methods. Art therapy, one of the available non-pharmacological treatments, has become increasingly popular. The definition of art therapy is psychotherapy involving the use of visual art-making (drawing, painting, sculpting, collage, etc.) for expression and communication within a safe and supportive relationship usually on a one-to-one basis in a therapeutic setting led by art therapists usually at postgraduate level registered with and accredited by the Health and Care Professions Council (Uttley et al., 2015). Art therapy is a specific branch of treatment under the umbrella term "arts therapies"

No abstract

Optimal nutrition formulas for colorectal cancer patients underwent surgery remains uncertainty. We constructed an indirect comparison study to assess comparative efficacy of different immunonutrition formulas and standard nutrition in colorectal cancer patients underwent surgery. PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov and Web of Science databases were searched to identify RCTs that compared immunonutrition with standard nutrition or different immunonutrition formulas. Data on length of hospital stays (LOS), infectious complications (IC), noninfectious complications (NIC) and anastomotic leakage (AL) were extracted from the included RCTs for Bayesian network analysis using a random-effect model. Twelve articles that included 1032 individuals were incorporated into this study. The indirect comparison confirmed the potential improvement of arginine-based immunonutrition on IC (odds ratios [OR] ¼ 0.43, 95%confidence interval [CI]: 0.17 to 0.95), glutamine on NIC (OR ¼ 0.07 CI: 0.00 to 0.78) and LOS (MD=-3.91 CI: À6.33 to-1.69) and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on LOS (OR=-3.49 CI: À5.46 to-1.00). Results indicated that glutamine had the highest probability of reducing complications and hospital stays. As for colorectal cancer patients underwent surgery, this indirect comparison suggested some superiority of glutamine. Future more RCTs with larger scale are required to provide evidence for the optimal immunonutrition formulas.