Mobile Health Technology for Nutritional Management in Head and Neck Cancer Survivors: A Scoping Review

Engineering notes

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Chinese explanation / 中文解读

中文解读待补充：本站会优先为大语言模型、生成式AI、ChatGPT相关技术、计算机视觉、深度学习等高价值论文补充中文说明。

Original abstract

Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) represents one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide, imposing a substantial burden on global public health. Standard treatment modalities typically encompass surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Although these interventions have significantly improved patient survival rates, they frequently induce a spectrum of nutrition-related complications, including dysphagia, taste alterations, and oral mucositis. These symptoms are primary contributors to malnutrition among patients and can profoundly compromise their long-term quality of life. Existing literature highlights nutritional management as a fundamental component of rehabilitative care for patients with HNC. With the rapid advancement of digital health technologies, mobile health (mHealth) solutions are increasingly integrated into nutritional care for this population. Utilizing digital tools such as smartphone applications, wearable devices, and telemedicine platforms, mHealth overcomes spatial and temporal barriers to provide cancer patients with real-time monitoring, personalized dietary guidance, and health education. However, a comprehensive analysis of the overall application landscape, intervention characteristics, and implementation outcomes of mHealth technologies in nutritional care during the HNC rehabilitation phase remains lacking. Therefore, this study employs a scoping review methodology to systematically identify and analyze the application of mHealth technologies in the nutritional management of head and neck cancer patients during rehabilitation, aiming to provide evidence-based guidance for future clinical practice and research. Research Questions(PCC): P: Population: Adult patients with head and neck cancer in the rehabilitation phase. C: Concept: mHealth technology refers to the use of mobile devices—including, but not limited to, smartphone applications, wearable devices, and telemedicine platforms—to implement nutrition-related interventions. Specifically, this may include nutrition risk assessment and screening; dietary guidance and nutrition education; monitoring and guidance of nutritional status; nutrition counseling; and nutritional adaptation related to swallowing function. C: Context: The rehabilitation period following treatment for head and neck cancer encompasses various care settings, including home, community, and outpatient care. Research Objective: This study aims to systematically review and analyze the current application of mHealth technology in nutritional management during the rehabilitation period for patients with head and neck cancer, thereby providing guidance for future practice and research in this field. Search Strategy: This review will adhere to the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines for scoping review and the PRISMA-ScR reporting criteria. A scoping review will be conducted across Chinese and English databases, including PubMed, the Web of Science Core Collection, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus, CNKI, the VIP Database, and SinoMed, covering the period from each database's inception through August 25, 2026. Using PubMed as an example, the English search query is as follows: #1 Head and Neck Neoplasms [MeSH] OR Mouth Neoplasms [MeSH] OR Oropharyngeal Neoplasms [MeSH] OR Laryngeal Neoplasms [MeSH] OR "head and neck tumor"[Title/Abstract] OR "head and neck neoplasm*"[Title/Abstract] OR "head and neck cancer"[Title/Abstract] OR "head and neck carcinoma"[Title/Abstract] OR HNC[Title/Abstract] OR HNSCC[Title/Abstract] OR"oral neoplasm*"[Title/Abstract] OR "oral cancer"[Title/Abstract] OR "cancer of the oral cavity"[Title/Abstract] OR "mouth neoplasm*"[Title/Abstract] OR "mouth cancer"[Title/Abstract] OR "oropharyngeal cancer"[Title/Abstract] OR "oropharyngeal neoplasm*"[Title/Abstract] OR "laryngeal cancer"[Title/Abstract] OR "laryngeal neoplasm*"[Title/Abstract] OR "nasopharyngeal carcinoma"[Title/Abstract] OR "nasopharyngeal cancer"[Title/Abstract] OR "hypopharyngeal cancer"[Title/Abstract] OR "salivary gland tumor"[Title/Abstract] OR "tongue cancer"[Title/Abstract] OR "paranasal sinus cancer"[Title/Abstract] OR "nasal cavity cancer"[Title/Abstract] #2 Telemedicine [MeSH] OR Smartphone [MeSH] OR Generative Artificial Intelligence [MeSH] OR mHealth[Title/Abstract] OR "m health"[Title/Abstract] OR "mobile health"[Title/Abstract] OR eHealth[Title/Abstract] OR telehealth[Title/Abstract] OR "Application*"[Title/Abstract] OR "mobile app*"[Title/Abstract] OR phone*[Title/Abstract] OR "mobile technology"[Title/Abstract] OR "Mobile-based intervention"[Title/Abstract] OR "wearable*"[Title/Abstract] OR "wearable device"[Title/Abstract] OR "remote monitoring"[Title/Abstract] OR telemedicine[Title/Abstract] OR telecare[Title/Abstract] OR telecommunication[Title/Abstract] OR "personal digital assistant"[Title/Abstract] OR PDA[Title/Abstract] OR tablet[Title/Abstract] OR "portable electronic application"[Title/Abstract] OR chatbot*[Title/Abstract] OR "large language model*"[Title/Abstract] OR "foundation model"[Title/Abstract] OR WeChat[Title/Abstract] OR "mini program*"[Title/Abstract] OR "official account"[Title/Abstract] OR "mobile platform"[Title/Abstract] OR "digital intervention"[Title/Abstract] OR "digital health"[Title/Abstract] OR "internet-based"[Title/Abstract] OR "web"[Title/Abstract] #3 Nutrition Therapy [MeSH] OR "Nutrition support" [Title/Abstract] OR "nutritional management"[Title/Abstract] OR "nutrition assessment"[Title/Abstract] OR "nutritional status"[Title/Abstract] OR "diet therapy" [Title/Abstract] OR "dietary intervention"[Title/Abstract] OR "enteral nutrition"[Title/Abstract] OR "swallowing"[Title/Abstract] OR "dysphagia"[Title/Abstract] OR "dysgeusia"[Title/Abstract] OR "taste disorder"[Title/Abstract] OR "food intake"[Title/Abstract] OR "dietary adherence"[Title/Abstract] OR "malnutrition"[Title/Abstract] OR "tube feeding"[Title/Abstract] OR "oral nutritional supplement"[Title/Abstract] #1 AND #2 AND #3 Inclusion Criteria: 1) Study participants must be adult patients with head and neck cancer (aged ≥18 years); 2) The study must involve the application of at least one mobile health technology (e.g., smartphone applications, wearable devices, or remote monitoring systems) within the context of nutritional care; 3) Included studies must explicitly describe participants as being in the rehabilitation phase following treatment completion, encompassing both the early rehabilitation phase (weeks to months post-treatment) and the long-term rehabilitation follow-up phase; 4) Studies published in English or Chinese. Exclusion Criteria: 1) Studies relying solely on traditional telephone follow-up without digital technology components, or those involving only electronic health records or hospital information systems lacking patient-side interaction; 2) Studies including participants with severe cognitive impairment, mental illness, or end-stage organ failure who are unable to cooperate with mobile health interventions; 3) Reviews, conference papers, reports, guidelines, or similar publications; 4) Duplicate publications; 5) Studies for which the full text is unavailable. Literature Screening and Data Extraction: The retrieved studies were imported into EndNote to remove duplicates. Two researchers independently reviewed the titles and abstracts for initial screening, followed by a full-text review to determine the final included studies. Two researchers independently extracted data, including authors, publication year, country, research methods, target population, type of mobile health technology, main functional modules, intervention duration and frequency, and primary outcome measures. The two researchers subsequently compared and synthesized the extracted data; a third researcher then reviewed and analyzed the included studies. Any disagreements were resolved through discussion among all three researchers to determine the final results.

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