Patient-focused internet interventions in reproductive medicine: A scoping review

Human Reproduction Update

Volumn 18, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 211-227

  Aarts, J W M ^a   van den Haak, P ^b   Nelen, W L D M ^a   Tuil, W S ^b   Faber, M J ^a   Kremer, J A M ^a  

^a RADBOUD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER   (Netherlands)

^b MijnZorgnet Mercator II   (Netherlands)

Author keywords

eHealth; Health 2.0; Infertility; Internet; Scoping review

Indexed keywords

COGNITIVE THERAPY; COUNSELING; EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION; ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORD; HEALTH PROMOTION; HUMAN SUPPORT THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION; INFERTILITY; INFERTILITY THERAPY; INFORMATION RETRIEVAL; INTERNET PROTOCOL; MEDICAL RESEARCH; MENTAL HEALTH PROMOTION; ONLINE SUPPORT GROUP; ONLINE SYSTEM; PATIENT FOCUSED INTERNET INTERVENTION; PILOT STUDY; PRIORITY JOURNAL; PROGNOSIS; RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (TOPIC); REPRODUCTION; REVIEW; SELF HELP; SUPPORT GROUP; UNITED KINGDOM;

COUNSELING; HEALTH PROMOTION; HUMANS; INFERTILITY; INTERNET; MENTAL HEALTH; REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE; SELF-HELP GROUPS;

EID: 84857603738     PISSN: 13554786     EISSN: 14602369     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/humupd/dmr045     Document Type: Review

References (108)

1. Archambault PM, Légaré F, Lavoie A, Gagnon MP, Lapointe J, StJacques S, Poitras J, Aubin K, Croteau S, Pham-Dinh M. Healthcare professionals' intentions to use wiki-based reminders to promote best practices in trauma care: a survey protocol. Implement Sci 2010;5:45.
2. Arksey H, O'Malley L. Scoping studies: towards a methodological framework. Int J Soc Res Meth 2005;8:19-32.
3. Atkinson L, Saperstein SL, Desmond SM, Gold RS, Billing AS, Tian J. Rural eHealth nutrition education for limited-income families: An iterative and user-centered design approach. J Med Internet Res 2009a;11:e21.
4. Atkinson N, Saperstein SL, Pleis J. Using the Internet for health-related activities: findings from a national probability sample. J Med Internet Res 2009b;11:e4.
5. Baker TB, Gustafson DH, Shaw B, Hawkins R, Pingree S, Roberts L, Strecher V. Relevance of CONSORT reporting criteria for research on eHealth interventions. Patient Educ Couns 2010;81S:77S-86S.
6. Barak A, Klein B, Proudfoot J. Defining Internet-supported therapeutic interventions. Ann Behav Med 2009;38:4-17.
7. Berger M, Wagner TH, Baker LC. Internet use and stigmatized illness. Soc Sci Med 2005;61:1821-1827.
8. Boulos MNK, Maramba I, Wheeler S. Wikis, blogs and podcasts: a new generation of web-based tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and education. BMC Med Educ 2006;6:41-48.
9. Brandes M, van der Steen JO, Bokdam SB, Hamilton CJ, de Bruin JP, Nelen WL, Kremer JA. When and why do subfertile couples discontinue their fertility care? A longitudinal cohort study in a secondary care subfertility population. Hum Reprod 2009;24:127-135.
10. Brouwer W, Kroeze W, Crutzen R, de Nooijer J, de Vries N, Brug J, Oenema A. Which intervention characteristics are related to more exposure to Internet-delivered healthy lifestyle promotion interventions? A systematic review. J Med Internet Res 2011;13:e2.
11. Brown G. The Internet is as vital as water and gas. The Times, June 16, 2009.
12. Bunting L, Boivin J. Knowledge about infertility risk factors, fertility myths and illusory benefits of healthy habits in young people. Hum Reprod 2008;23:1585-1864.
13. Bunting L, Boivin J. Development and preliminary validation of the fertility status awareness tool: FertiSTAT. Hum Reprod 2010;25:1722-1733.
14. Campbell NC, Murray E, Darbyshire J, Emery J, Farmer A, Griffiths F, Guthrie B, Lester H, Wilson P, Kinmonth AL. Designing and evaluating complex interventions to improve health care. Br Med J 2007;334:445-449.
15. Chachamovich J, Chachamovich E, Ezer H, Cordova FP, Fleck MM, Knauth DR, Passos EP. Psychological distress as a predictor of quality of life in men experiencing infertility: a cross-sectional survey. Reprod Health 2010;7:3.
16. Chiu TML, Eysenbach G. Stages of use: consideration, initiation, utilization and outcomes of an internet-mediated intervention. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 2010;10:73-83.
17. Cousineau TM, Domar AD. Psychological impact of infertility. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol 2007;21:293-308.
18. Cousineau TM, Green TC, Corsini E, Seibring A, Showstack MT, Applegarth L, Davidson M, Perloe M. Online psychoeductional support for infertile women: a randomized controlled trial. Hum Reprod 2008;23:554-566.
19. Dancet EAF, Nelen WLDM, Sermeus W, de Leeuw L, Kremer JAM, D'Hooghe TM. The patients' perspective on fertility care: a systematic review. Hum Reprod Update 2010;16:467-487.
20. Dedding C, van Doorn R, Winkler L, Reis R. How will e-health affect patient participation in the clinic? A review of e-health studies and the current evidence for changes in the relationship between medical professionals and patients. Soc Sci Med 2011;72:49-53.
21. Demiris G. The diffusion of virtual communities in health care: concepts and challenges. Patient Educ Couns 2006;62:178-188.
22. Epstein YM, Rosenberg HS. Assessing infertility information on the Internet: challenges and possible solutions. Fertil Steril 2005;83:553-555.
23. Epstein YM, Rosenberg HS, Venet Grant T, Hemenway N. Use of the Internet as the only outlet for talking about infertility. Fertil Steril 2002;78:507-514.
24. Evers KE, Cummins CO, Prochaska JO, Prochaska JM. Online health behavior and disease management programs: are we ready for them? Are they ready for us? J Med Internet Res 2005;7:e27.
25. Eysenbach G, Powell J, Englesakis M, Rizo C, Stern A. Health related virtual communities and electronic support groups: systematic review of the effects of online peer to peer interactions. Br Med J 2004;328:1166-1171.
26. Eysenbach G. Law of attrition. J Med Internet Res 2005;7:e11.
27. Eysenbach G. Medicine 2.0: social networking, collaboration, participation, apomediation, and openness. J Med Internet Res 2008;10:e22.
28. Eysenbach G, Köhler C. Health-related searches on the Internet. J Am Med Assoc 2004;291:2946.
29. Gentles SJ, Lokker C, McKibbon KA. Health information technology to facilitate communication involving health care providers, caregivers, and pediatric patients: a scoping review. J Med Internet Res 2010;12:e22.
30. Gorini A, Gaggioli A, Vigna C, Riva G. A second life for eHealth: prospects for the use of 3-D virtual worlds in clinical psychology. J Med Internet Res 2008;10:e21.
31. Gustafson DH, Wyatt JC. Evaluation of ehealth systems and services. Br Med J 2004; 328:1150.
32. Haagen EC, Tuil W, Hendriks J, de Bruijn RPJ, Braat DDM, Kremer JAM. Current Internet use and preferences of IVF and ICSI patients. Hum Reprod 2003; 18:2073-2078.
33. Hämmerli K, Znoj H, Berger T. Internet-based support for infertile patients: a randomized controlled study. J Behav Med 2010;33:135-146.
34. Hartzband P, Groopman J. Untangling the Web-patients, doctors, and the Internet. N Engl J Med 2010;362:1063-1066.
35. Hawe P, Shiell A, Riley T. Complex interventions: how 'out of control' can a randomised controlled trial be? Br Med J 2004;328:1561-1563.
36. Higgins JP, Altman DG. Assessing risk of bias in included studies. In: Higgins JP, Green S (eds) Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions: Cochrane Book Series. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 2008. doi: 10.1002/9780470712184.ch8.
37. Himmel W, Meyer J, Kochen MM, Michelmann HW. Information needs and visitors' experiences of an Internet expert forum on infertility. J Med Internet Res 2005;7:e20.
38. Hinton L, Kurinczuk JJ, Ziebland S. Infertility; isolation and the Internet: a qualitative interview study. Patient Educ Couns 2010;81:436-441.
39. Homan GF, Davies M, Norman R. The impact of lifestyle factors on reproductive performance in the general population and those undergoing infertility treatment: a review. Hum Reprod Update 2007;13:209-223.
40. Huang JYJ, Al-Fozan H, Tan SL, Tulandi TT. Internet use by patients seeking infertility treatment. Int J Gynecol Obstet 2003;83:75-76.
41. Huang JYJ, Discepola F, Al-Fozan H, Tulandi TT. Quality of fertility clinic websites. Fertil Steril 2005;83:538-544.
42. Hulscher MEJL, Laurant MGH, Grol RPTM. Process evaluation on quality improvement interventions. Qual Saf Health Care 2003;12:40-46.
43. Huyghe E, Martinetti P, Sui D, Schover LR. Banking on fatherhood: pilot studies of a computerized educational tool on sperm banking before cancer treatment. Psychooncology 2009;18:1011-1014.
44. Isupova OG. Support through patient internet-communities: Lived experience of Russian in vitro fertilization patients. Int J Qualitative Stud Health Well-being 2011;6. Advance Access published July 12, 2011, doi:10.3402/qhw.v6i3.5907.
45. Jenkins JM, Cook J, Edwards J, Draycott T, Cahill DJ. Medical education with the Internet: a pilot training programme in reproductive medicine. BJOG 2001; 108:114-116.
46. Kahlor L, Mackert M. Perceptions of infertility information and support sources among female patients who access the Internet. Fertil Steril 2009;91:83-90.
47. Kerr C, Murray E, Stevenson F, Gore C, Nazareth I. Internet interventions for long-term conditions: patient and caregiver quality criteria. J Med Internet Res 2006;8:e13.
48. Levac D, Colquhoun H, O'Brien KK. Scoping studies: advancing the methodology. Implement Sci 2010;5:69-77.
49. Malik SH, Coulson NS. The male experience of infertility: a thematic analysis of an online infertility support group bulletin board. J Reprod Infant Psychol 2008a; 26:18-30.
50. Malik SH, Coulson NS. Computer-mediated infertility support groups: an exploratory study of online experiences. Patient Educ Couns 2008b; 73:105-113.
51. Malik SH, Coulson NS. Coping with infertility online: an examination of self-help mechanisms in an online infertility support group. Patient Educ Couns 2010a; 81:315-318.
52. Malik SH, Coulson NS. 'They all supported me but I felt like I suddenly didn't belong anymore': an exploration of perceived disadvantages to online support seeking. J Psychosom Obst Gynecol 2010b;31:140-149.
53. Malik SH, Coulson NS. A comparison of lurkers and posters with infertility online support groups. Comput Inform Nurs 2011; Advance Access published June 24, 2011.
54. Marriot JV, Stec P, El-Toukhy T, Khalaf Y, Brause P, Coomarasamy A. Infertility information on the World Wide Web: a cross-sectional survey of quality of infertility information on the Internet in the UK. Hum Reprod 2008; 23:1520-1525.
55. Meneses K, Mcnees P, Azuero A, Jukkala A. Evaluation of the Fertility and Cancer Project (FCP) among young breast cancer survivors. Psychooncology 2010; 19:1112-1115.
56. Michie S, Abraham C, Whittington C, McAteer J, Gupta S. Effective techniques in healthy eating and physical activity interventions: a meta-regression. Health Psychol 2009;28:690-701.
57. Murray E, May C, Mair F. Development and formative evaluation of the e-Health Implementation Toolkit (e-HIT). BMC Med Inf Decis Mak 2010;10:61.
58. National CASP Collaboration for Qualitative Methodologies. Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). 10 Questions to Help You Make Sense of Qualitative Research. Oxford, UK. Public Health Research Unit, 2006.
59. Nguyen HQ, Carrieri-Kohlman V, Rankin SH, Slaughter R, Stulbarg MS. Internet-based patient education and support interventions: a review of evaluation studies and directions for future research. Comput Biol Med 2004; 34:95-112.
60. Nijland N, van Gemert-Pijnen JE, Boer H, Steehouder MF, Seydel ER. Increasing the use of e-consultation in primary care: results of an online survey among non-users of e-consultation. Int J Med Inform 2009;78:688-703.
61. Norman CD, Maley O, Li X, Skinner HA. Using the internet to assist smoking prevention and cessation in schools: a randomized, controlled trial. Health Psychol 2008;27:799-810.
62. O'Grady L, Witteman H, Bender JL, Urowitz S, Wiljer D, Jadad AR. Measuring the impact of a moving target: towards a dynamic framework for evaluating collaborative adaptive interactive technologies. J Med Internet Res 2009;11:e20.
63. Oh H, Rizo C, Enkin M, Jadad A. What is eHealth (3): a systematic review of published definitions. J Med Internet Res 2005;7:e1.
64. Okamura K, Bernstein J, Fidler AT. Assessing the quality of infertility resources on the world wide web: tools to guide clients through the maze of fact and fiction. J Midwifery Womens Health 2002;47:264-268.
65. Parasuraman A. Technology Readiness Index (Tri): a multiple-item scale to measure readiness to embrace new technologies. J Serv Res 2000;2:307.
66. Pope C, van Royen P, Baker R. Qualitative methods in research on healthcare quality. Qual Saf Health Care 2002;11:148-152.
67. Potts HWW. Is e-health progressing faster than e-health researchers? J Med Internet Res 2006;8:e24.
68. Powell JA, Darvell M, Gray JAM. The doctor, the patient and the world-wide web: how the Internet is changing healthcare. J R Soc Med 2003;96:74-76.
69. Rawal N, Haddad N. Use of Internet in infertility patients. The Internet J Gynecol Obstet 2006;5:1.
70. Richardson CR, Buis LR, Janney AW, Goodrich DE, Sen A, Hess ML, Mehari KS, Fortlage LA, Resnick PJ, Zikmund-Fisher BJ et al. An online community improves adherence in an Internet-mediated walking program. Part 1: results of a randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res 2010;12:e71.
71. Ritterband LM, Cox DJ, Gordon TL, Borowitz SM, Kovatchev BP, Walker LS, Sutphen JL. Examining the added value of audio, graphics, and interactivity in an Internet intervention for pediatric encopresis. Child Health Care 2006; 35:47-59.
72. Samoocha D, Bruinvels DJ, Elbers NA, Anema JR, van der Beek AJ. Effectiveness of web-based interventions on patient empowerment: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Med Internet Res 2010;12:e23.
73. Schanz S, Baeckert-Sifeddine IT, Braeunlich C, Collins SE, Batra A, Gebert S, Hautzinger M, Fierlbeck G. A new quality-of-life measure for men experiencing involuntary childlessness. Hum Reprod 2005;20:2858-2865.
74. Schleyer T, Spallek H, Butler BS, Subramanian S,Weiss D, Poythress ML, Rattanathikun P, Mueller G. Facebook for scientists: requirements and services for optimizing how scientific collaborations are established. JMed Internet Res 2008;10:e24.
75. Schmidt L. Psychosocial burden of infertility and assisted reproduction. Lancet 2006; 367:379-380.
76. Sexton MB, Byrd MR, O'Donahue WT, Jacobs NN. Web-based treatment for infertility-related psychological distress. Arch Womens Ment Health 2010;3:347-358.
77. Shiell A, Hawe P, Gold L. Complex interventions or complex systems? Implications for health economic evaluation. Br Med J 2008;336:1281-1283.
78. Shrier I, Boivin JF, Steele RJ, Platt RW, Furlan A, Kakuma R, Brophy J, Rossignol M. Should meta-analyses of interventions include observational studies in addition to randomized controlled trials? A critical examination of underlying principles. Am J Epidemiol 2007;166:1203-1209.
79. Simkin-Silverman LR, Conroy MB, Bhargava T, McTigue KM. Development of an online diabetes prevention lifestyle interventions coaching protocol for use in primary care practice. Diabetes Educ 2011;37:263-268.
80. Sofaer S. Qualitative methods: what are they and why use them? Health Serv Res 1999;34:1101-1118.
81. Spool J, Scanlon T, Snyder C, DeAngelo T. Web Site Usability: A Designer's Guide (Interactive Technologies), 1st edn. San Francisco, USA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 1999.
82. Steuber KR, Solomon DH. Relational uncertainty, partner interference, and infertility: a qualitative study of discourse within online forums. J Soc Pers Relat 2008;25:831-855.
83. Stevens VJ, Funk KL, Brantley PJ, Erlinger TP, Myers VH, Champagne CM, Bauck A, Samuel-Hodge CD, Hollis JF. Design and implementation of an interactive website to support long-term maintenance of weight loss. J Med Internet Res 2008;10:e1.
84. Stopponi MA, Alexander GL, McClure JB, Carroll NM, Divine GW, Calvi JH, Rolnick SJ, Strecher VJ, Johnson CC, Ritzwoller DP. Recruitment to a randomized web-based nutritional intervention trial: characteristics of participants compared to non-participants. J Med Internet Res 2009;11:e38.
85. Swan M. Emerging patient-driven health care models: an examination of health social networks, consumer personalized medicine and quantified self-tracking. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2009;6:492-525.
86. Tate DF, Wing RR, Winett RA. Using Internet technology to deliver a behavioural weight loss program. J Am Med Assoc 2001;285:172-1177.
87. Toscano SE, Montgomery RM. The lived experience of women pregnant (including preconception) post in vitro fertilization through the lens of virtual communities. Health Care Women Int 2009;30:1014-1036.
88. Tuil WS, ten Hoopen AJ, Braat DDM, de Vries Robbé PF, Kremer JAM. Patient-centred care: using online personal medical records in IVF practice. Hum Reprod 2006;21:2955-2959.
89. Tuil WS, Verhaak CM, Braat DDM, de Vries Robbé PF, Kremer JAM. Empowering patients undergoing in vitro fertilization by providing Internet access to medical data. Fertil Steril 2007;88:361-368.
90. Tuil WS, Verhaak CM, de Vries Robbé PF, Kremer JAM. IVF patients show three types of online behaviour. Hum Reprod 2008;23:2501-2505.
91. Tuil WS, van Selm M, Verhaak CM, de Vries Robbé PF, Kremer JAM. Dynamics of Internet usage during the stages of in vitro fertilization. Fertil Steril 2009; 91:953-956.
92. Van de Belt TH, Engelen LJ, Berben SA, Schoonhoven L. Definition of Health 2.0 and Medicine 2.0:systematic review. J Med Internet Res 2010;12:e18.
93. Van den Berg MH, Schoones JW, Vliet Vlieland TPM. Internet-based physical activity interventions: a systematic review of the literature. J Med Internet Res 2007;9:e26.
94. Vandenbroucke JP. Observational research, randomised trials, and two views of medical science. PLoS Med 2008;5:e67.
95. Vandenbroucke JP. The HRT controversy: observational studies and RCTs fall in line. Lancet 2009;373:1233-1235.
96. Van Empel IW, Nelen WL, Tepe ET, van Laarhoven EA, Verhaak CM, Kremer JA. Weaknesses, strengths and needs in fertility care according to patients. Hum Reprod 2010a;25:142-149.
97. Van Selm M, Tuil WS, Verhaak CM, Woldringh G, Kremer J. Chat about what matters most: an analysis of chat contributions posted to an outpatient fertility website. Cyperpsychol Behav 2008;11:675-677.
98. Van 't Riet J, Crutzen R, de Vries H. Investigating predictors of visiting, using, and revisiting an online health-communication program: a longitudinal study. J Med Internet Res 2010;12:e37.
99. Varga-Atkins T, Dangerfield P, Brigden D. Developing professionalism through the use of wikis: a study with first-year undergraduate medical students. Med Teach 2010;32:824-829.
100. Verberg MF, Eijkemans MJ, Heijnen EM, Broekmans FJ, de Klerk C, Fauser BC, Macklon NS. Why do couples drop-out from IVF treatment? A prospective cohort study. Hum Reprod 2008;23:2050-2055.
101. Verhaak CM, Smeenk JMJ, Evers AWM, Kremer JAM, Kraaimaat FW, Braat DDM. Women's emotional adjustment to IVF: a systematic review of 25 years of research. Hum Rep Update 2007;13:27-36.
102. Weissman A, Gotlieb L, Ward S, Greenblatt E, Casper RF. Use of the Internet by infertile couples. Fertil Steril 2000;73:1179-1182.
103. Wells GA, Shea B, O'Connell D, Peterson J, Welch V, Losos M, Tugwell P. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for assessing the quality of non-randomised studies in meta-analyses. http://www.ohri.ca/programs/clinical_epidemiology/oxford.htm (18 June 2011, date last accessed).
104. Whittington K, Cook J, Barratt C, Jenkins J. Can the Internet widen participation in reproductive medicine education for professionals. Hum Reprod 2004;19: 1800-1805.
105. Wischmann T. Implications of psychosocial support in infertility - a critical appraisal. J Psychosom Obst Gynecol 2008;29:83-90.
106. Wyatt S, Henwood F, Hart A, Smith J. The digital divide, health information and everyday life. New Media Soc 2005;7:199-218.
107. Zahalsky M, Wilson SR, di Blasio CJ, Lam SK, Nagler HM. Male infertility on the Internet: an analysis of web-based resources. BJU Int 2005;1:481-484.
108. Zegers-Hochschild F, Adamson GD, de Mouzon J, Ishihara O, Mansour R, Nygren K, Sullivan E, van der Poel S. The International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology (ICMART) and the World Health Organization (WHO) revised glossary on ART terminology, 2009. Hum Reprod 2009; 11:2683-2687.