Digital health interventions for fatigue in hemodialysis patient: A scoping review
Li Niu, Yuyan Zhao, Xiaoyi Cao, Lili Wang, Zhuojing Yang, Biyu Song, Shuhong Wang, Yan Guo, Jialiang Lv, Juzi WangObjective
Hemodialysis patients often experience severe fatigue that impairs their quality of life. While digital health interventions have shown promise for symptom management, a comprehensive evidence map focusing on hemodialysis-related fatigue is still lacking. This scoping review aims to map existing digital health interventions for hemodialysis-related fatigue, and synthesize their intervention modalities, delivery settings, core elements, assessment tools, and reported effects.
Methods
This scoping review followed the Arksey and O’Malley framework and was reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR. We systematically searched nine databases (CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, CBM, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library) was conducted from inception to 14 May 2026. Empirical studies that validated or applied digital health technologies for hemodialysis fatigue were included in this review using the PCC framework.
Results
A total of 10 studies involving 648 participants from 7 countries were included. These studies encompassed randomized controlled trials (n=5), quasi-experimental studies (n=3), one non-randomised pilot trial (n=1), and one single-arm feasibility trial (n=1). Five primary application forms of digital health technologies were identified: mobile applications, virtual reality, videoconferencing, web-based platforms, and wearable devices. Intervention content was mainly classified into four themes: exercise intervention, self-management education, psychosocial and cognitive restructuring, and recreational therapy. Several studies reported improvements in patient-reported fatigue, but the findings were not consistent across all studies. Conclusions: Digital health technologies have potential in the management of hemodialysis-related fatigue, but current evidence remains preliminary, heterogeneous, and fragmented. Future research should prioritize large-scale trials, integrate objective and subjective outcome measurements, adopt standardized assessment approaches, and develop comprehensive digital care models tailored to the symptom patterns of hemodialysis patients.