title: Video-, Audio-, and Computer-Mediated Education of Patients and Relatives in Gynecologic Cancer Care: A Systematic Review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cancer patients can often experience emotional distress, and gynecologic cancer patients may be among the most distressed. As hospital stays become shorter, nurses are challenged to educate patients and relatives adequately. The use of computer-based technologies may alleviate the situation.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article aims to review the literature related to the use of audio-, visual-, or computer-based technologies to support healthcare professional training of adult female patients and their close relatives in gynecologic cancer care. We describe to what extent these technologies were found to be effective and evaluate clinical implications.
  
  
  METHODS
  PubMed, EMBASE and PsycINFO via Ovid, CINAHL via EBSCO, and the Cochrane Library were searched, and 4177 unique references were examined. All studies evaluating healthcare professional training of women with gynecologic cancer and/or their relatives via audio-, visual-, or computer-based technologies were included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found scarce and conflicting evidence of benefits to gynecologic patients of healthcare professional use of video- or computer-based patient education. These interventions might be best suited to the highest educated with coping skills beyond the average. No studies were found to include relatives or found to test audio-based patient education.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  More rigorously produced and reported studies of healthcare professional training initiatives for gynecologic cancer patients and their relatives are recommended. Measures used to capture the perceived benefits to patients might be reconsidered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Precautions should be taken before recommending technologies that are unevaluated in own context. Attention must be on both what is provided when and to whom.
authors.affiliation: Author Affiliations: Research Unit for Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Clinical Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, and Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Odense University Hospital (Drs Thygesen and Mogensen), and Research Unit of General Practice, University of Southern Denmark (Ms Nicolaisen), Odense.
authors.forename: Marianne K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Thygesen
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nicolaisen
authors.forename: Ole
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mogensen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005831:Genital Diseases, Female / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology*; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D010465:Perception; D014741:Video Recording