*Systematic Review* **The Impact of eHealth Interventions on the Improvement of Self-Care in Chronic Patients: An Overview of Systematic Reviews**

**Erika Renzi 1,\* , Valentina Baccolini <sup>1</sup> , Giuseppe Migliara <sup>1</sup> , Corrado De Vito 1, Giulia Gasperini 2,3 , Angelo Cianciulli <sup>1</sup> , Carolina Marzuillo <sup>1</sup> , Paolo Villari <sup>1</sup> and Azzurra Massimi <sup>1</sup>**


**Abstract:** Promoting self-care is one of the most promising strategies for managing chronic conditions. This overview aimed to investigate the effectiveness of eHealth interventions at improving self-care in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease when compared to standard care. We carried out a review of systematic reviews on PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, PsychInfo, and CINAHL. AMSTAR-2 was used for quality appraisal. Eight systematic reviews (six with meta-analysis) were included, involving a total of 41,579 participants. eHealth interventions were categorized into three subgroups: (i) reminders via messaging apps, emails, and apps; (ii) telemonitoring and online operator support; (iii) internet and web-based educational programs. Six systematic reviews showed an improvement in self-care measurements through eHealth interventions, which also led to a better quality of life and clinical outcomes (HbA1C, blood pressure, hospitalization, cholesterol, body weight). This overview provided some implications for practice and research: eHealth is effective in increasing self-care in chronic patients; however, it is required to designate the type of eHealth intervention based on the needed outcome (e.g., implementing telemonitoring to increase self-monitoring of blood pressure). In addition, there is a need to standardize self-care measures through increased use of validated assessment tools.

**Keywords:** eHealth; self-care; chronic diseases
