Digital psychosocial tools and interventions for supporting informal caregivers of people with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review

Objective: Caring for a person affected by a neurodegenerative disease like multiple sclerosis (MS), which begins in early adulthood and leads to premature disability, can be perceived as a very challenging task. Patients' informal caregivers (ICs), play a crucial role in assisting people with MS, but frequently may experience burden and emotional distress. This systematic review aims to analyze digital tools promoting psychosocial wellbeing and resources in ICs of people with MS, focusing on intervention, ICs and MS characteristics, and outcomes such as effectiveness, and feasibility. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted across four databases, covering studies published from January 2000 to May 2024 to identify psychosocial interventions dedicated to ICs delivered through digital technology. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to assess the quality of the studies included. Extracted results were synthesized and presented in a narrative text and a structured tabulation. Results: Starting from 2749 records, a total of 8 studies met the inclusion criteria with half conducted as RCTs. Most of the interventions focused only on ICs, aiming to improve quality of life and reduce emotional burden. Web-based, mobile-health and most commonly tele-consulting modalities were used to deliver the interventions, generally showing signal of efficacy in improve psychological and performance parameters. Conclusions: The diverse range of interventions offer flexibility and accessibility and appear to be promising solutions in addressing the diverse needs of ICs. However, the studies are few, recent, and varied, complicating synthesis and generalization and further research is necessary to strengthen evidence and optimize intervention strategies.