eHealth interventions improve self-care and quality of life in patients with intestinal stomasMobile Apps and Web Tools Help Patients with Intestinal Stomas

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of various eHealth interventions on health outcomes among patients with intestinal stomas. METHODS: We searched nine databases for relevant articles from inception to 31 December 2025. Pairwise and network meta-analyses (NMA) were conducted to compare the effects of various eHealth interventions. RESULTS: Forty-eight studies, encompassing 4463 stoma patients, were included. Network meta-analysis revealed that APPs were the most effective interventions for reducing complications (SUCRA = 10.7%, OR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.36) and enhancing self-care ability (SUCRA = 94.2%, MD = 18.11, 95% CI: 11.79, 24.43). Web-based plus phone calls ranked highest for improving QOL (SUCRA = 100.0%, SMD = 9.76, 95% CI: 6.36, 13.16) and self-efficacy (SUCRA = 85.9%, MD = 30.32, 95% CI: 13.67, 46.97). APPs plus telemonitoring performed best in enhancing stoma adaptation (SUCRA = 82.7%, SMD = 3.10, 95% CI: -1.39, 7.59). APPs plus phone calls ranked highest for improving anxiety (SUCRA = 15.1%, SMD = -2.06, 95% CI: -4.79, 0.66), depression (SUCRA = 18.1%, SMD = -1.59, 95% CI: -3.19, 0.87) and satisfaction (SUCRA = 82.7%, OR = 7.14, 95% CI: 0.58, 88.16). CONCLUSION: eHealth interventions, particularly APPs and combined interventions, appear to improve health outcomes in stoma patients.