Effect of telenursing on Glycosylated Hemoglobin in patients with diabetes: A systematic review

Abstract

A systematic review was conducted to assess the impact of telenursing on glycosylated hemoglobin levels in diabetic patients. International electronic databases, including Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science, were systematically searched from their inception to August 21, 2023, using keywords derived from Medical Subject Headings such as "Diabetes mellitus", "Telenursing", and "Glycosylated Hemoglobin". In addition, Iranian databases like Iranmedex were also consulted. The quality of randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies was evaluated using the critical assessment checklist from the Joanna Briggs Institute. A total of nine studies involving 387 diabetic patients were participants across five studies. Among these patients, 65.48% were female, and 63.44% were allocated to the intervention group. The mean age of the study participants was 57.64 (SD=6.74). The mean duration of the studies and their respective follow-up periods were 48 and 12 weeks, respectively. Additionally, the average length of the intervention in all five studies, was approximately 17.5 minutes. Importantly, across all these studies, it was consistently observed that telenursing effectively reduced glycosylated hemoglobin levels. The findings demonstrated that telenursing, when utilized by nurses, was effective in controlling glycosylated hemoglobin levels and reducing them. We recommend that healthcare managers and policymakers establish a platform that not only incorporates telenursing via phone calls but also explores other methods such as video calls. This approach should consider cost-effectiveness to ensure accessibility for all individuals. Consequently, alongside traditional telephone calls, various telenursing methods can be employed to lower glycosylated hemoglobin levels.