The popularity of smartphones is undeniable in nearly all facets of society. Despite the many benefits attributed to the technology, concern has grown over the potential for excessive smartphone use to become problematic in nature. Due to the growing concerns surrounding the recognized and unrecognized implications of smartphone use, great efforts have been made through research to evaluate, label and identify problematic smartphone use mostly through the development and administration of scales assessing the behavior. This study examines 78 existing validated scales that have been developed over the past 13 years to measure, identify or characterize excessive or problematic smartphone use by evaluating their theoretical foundations and their psychometric properties. Our review determined that, despite an abundance of self-report scales examining the construct, many published scales lack sufficient internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Additionally, there is a lack of research supporting the theoretical foundation of many of the scales evaluated. Future research is needed to better characterize problematic smartphone use so that assessment tools can be more efficiently developed to evaluate the behavior in order to avoid the excessive publication of seemingly redundant assessment tools.

This review identified key theoretical frameworks of dyadic coping used in cancer. Evidence indicates that responses within the couple that inhibit open communication between partner and patient are likely to have an adverse impact on psychosocial outcomes. Models that incorporate the interdependence of emotional responses and coping behaviours within couples have an emerging evidence base in psycho-oncology and may have greatest validity and clinical utility in this setting.

Caregivers of individuals with COPD have a key role in maintaining patient adherence and optimizing patient function. However, no systematic review has examined how the caregiver role has been operationalized in interventions to improve outcomes of individuals with COPD or the quality or effectiveness of these interventions. The aims of this review were to 1) determine whether caregivers have been involved as part of interventions to improve outcomes of individuals with COPD; 2) determine the risk of bias within included intervention studies; and 3) examine the effectiveness of interventions that have involved caregivers in improving outcomes of individuals with COPD. The electronic databases of Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library were searched from January 2000 to November 2015. Experimental studies testing interventions that involved a caregiver to improve COPD patient outcomes were eligible. Nine studies involving caregivers met inclusion criteria. No studies reported any intervention components targeted solely at caregivers, with most instead including caregivers in dyadic or group education sessions about COPD delivered by health care professionals. The risk of bias identified in included studies was mixed. Seven of the nine studies were effective in improving a broad range of outcomes. These findings highlight that there is an urgent need for methodologically rigorous interventions to examine the effectiveness of strategies to assist caregivers to provide direct care, encourage adherence to health care provider recommendations, act as a health care advocate, and provide emotional and psychosocial support to individuals with COPD.

No abstract

Caregivers of individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience significant burden. To develop effective interventions to support this vulnerable group, it is necessary to understand how this burden varies as a function of patient well-being and across the illness trajectory. This systematic review aimed to identify the number and type of data-based publications exploring the burden and unmet needs of caregivers of individuals with COPD. Medline, Embase, PsycINFO and Cochrane databases were searched for studies published between January 2000 and February 2014. Studies were eligible if they were quantitative studies examining unmet needs of, or burden on, adult caregivers of individuals with COPD. Eligible papers were categorised according to (i) type (i.e. descriptive, measurement and intervention studies); (ii) whether they measured associations between patient and caregiver burden and (iii) whether they measured caregiver burden longitudinally. Twenty-seven data-based papers met criteria for inclusion. There was a significant increase in the total number of publications over time. The majority of publications were descriptive studies (n = 25), with one measurement and one intervention study identified. Fourteen descriptive studies measured the relationship between patient or caregiver factors and caregiver burden. Only two studies measured caregiver burden over time. There are a number of gaps in the body of research examining burden and unmet needs of caregivers of individuals with COPD that preclude the development of effective interventions for this population. Greater research effort should be directed towards identifying rigorous measurement tools which more accurately characterise caregiver burden, so that evidence-based interventions can be developed.