Purpose:

This article has two objectives: 1) To gather controlled and uncontrolled studies that provide evidence of the efficacy of Telepsychology on adherence to treatment indicators and behaviors of therapeutical adherence such as diet, physical activity, medication consumption, capillary glucose monitoring, foot care and Glycosylated Hemoglobin (HbA1C) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus; 2) to analyze the methodological characteristics of the studies.

Methodological design:

Considering PRISMA criteria and the PIT search strategy, six databases were consulted: Pubmed, OVID (PsycINFO and PsycArticles), Scopus, CINAHL and Web of Science.

Results:

A total of 1,547 articles were identified, yet only five randomized controlled trials, met the inclusion criteria. The assessed behaviors and indicators of adherence to treatment were: HbA1C (n =3), physical activity (n = 2), medication intake (n =1), capillary glucose monitoring (n =1), and diet (n =1). In two studies, asynchronous-type Telepsychology (i.e., via websites and apps) improved HbA1C, medication intake, capillary glucose monitoring, and diet; results on physical activity differ.

Limitations:

Since only two studies described information on effect size and confidence interval, a meta-analysis is not feasible.

Findings:

Telepsychology based on asynchronous cognitive-behavioral therapy shows encouraging results in improving glycemic control and therapeutic adherence behaviors in people with diabetes mellitus. The identified research was conducted in the United States, Europe and Oceania.

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