DOI: 10.5152/EurJTher.2017.220 European Journal of Therapeutics Evaluation of the Efectiveness of Web-based Intervention for Patients with Breast Cancer Birgül Özkan 1 , Reyhan Eskiyurt 1 , Dilek Öztaş 2 1 Department of Nursing, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University School of Health Science, Ankara, Turkey 2 Department of Public Health, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey ABSTRACT The study was conducted to define web-based patient education programs and to evaluate the effectiveness of a web-based in- tervention for patients with breast cancer. In this systematic review, we searched the Web of Science, Wiley Online Library, PubMed, and MEDLINE electronic databases for abstracts using the keywords “breast cancer,” “web-based intervention,” “online interven- tion,” and “web-based intervention.” There was no date limitation in the study, and the reviews were completed in December 2016. We identified 15 articles within the scope of this review. Web-based intervention included social support, exercise and dietary practices, self-help guides, self-management, and symptom management, which were detected to have a positive effect on qual- ity of life, fatigue, pain, self-sufficiency, depression, and stress management. In conclusion, this systematic review showed that web-based interventions are effective in psychosocial treatment and care process and that they are eligible for use in this area. Keywords: Breast cancer, web-based intervention, patient, psychoeducation This study was presented in 15 th Congress of the ARSPG - International Congress of the Association for Research and Support of Care in General Psychiatry, March 29-31, 2017, Paris. ORCID IDs of the authors: R.E. 0000-0003-0421-4914; D.Ö. 0000-0002-8687-7238. Corresponding Author: Reyhan Eskiyurt E-mail: reyhan.ryhn.reyhan@gmail.com Received: 28.09.2017 • Accepted: 20.12.2017 ©Copyright by 2018 Gaziantep University School of Medicine - Available online at www.eurjther.com Systematic Review INTRODUCTION Breast cancer, the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women, has been identifed as the second leading cause of deaths from cancer in women. More than a million women are annually di- agnosed with breast cancer (1, 2).The survival rate is increasing; however, patients may have to deal with not only the disease itself but also the adverse efects of treatments (3). In this con- text, the internet can be a way to overcome the problems ex- perienced. Individuals with the disease can refer to the internet for health information (4). In the 2011 Pew Report, 80% of online users stated that the internet is an important source of informa- tion for them, after physicians (5). Web-based support groups have several advantages compared with those of face-to-face support groups. First, web-based methods are very fexible. This is because the transfer of informa- tion can be synchronous or asynchronous. Second, web-based systems have several convenience features. In comparison with face-to-face interventions, they facilitate access to care services for individuals that cannot join face-to-face groups due to dis- tance, social anxiety, or health problems, and they make schedul- ing easier. The cost is low because relatively fewer resources are required for the management of a group. On the other hand, the disadvantages are that individuals should know how to use the computer and internet and have good reading and writing skills in the language spoken by the group. It was also suggested that the participant can become more dependent on web-based re- lationships, resulting in increased social isolation (6). Web-based programs are being developed for the management of adverse efects of the disease to provide informative and emotional support, to help in the planning of cancer treatment care, and to develop psychological and emotional coping abilities. It was observed from previous studies that all web-based programs im- prove the quality of life, increase social support, decrease anxiety and depression, and encourage patients to participate in health management (7-9). This systematic collection was compiled to defne the web-based patient education programs available for individuals with breast cancer and to assess the efcacy of the intervention. METHODS Investigation Strategies Several studies on the evaluation of the efectiveness of physical, psychological, social, and spiritual interventions conducted on individuals with breast cancer were found in the literature. This systematic collection was compiled to defne the web-based patient education programs available for patients with breast cancer and to assess the efcacy of the intervention. The elec- tronic databases, including Web of Science, Wiley Online Library, and PubMed, were reviewed for the articles dating up until De- cember 2016 using the keywords “meme kanseri,” “web tabanlı,” “müdahale,” “breast cancer,” “web-based intervention,” “online in- tervention,” and “Internet-based intervention.” The review was di- vided into fve categories: 1. study design (e.g., intervention and 72