Effects of home healthcare for adults with chronic respiratory diseases and post-COVID-19 syndrome on hospital bed turnover rate: a protocol of systematic review with meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION: Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) have a high prevalence, morbidity and mortality worldwide. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of patients readmitted after hospital discharge increased. For some populations, early hospital discharge and home healthcare may reduce health costs in patients treated at home when compared with those hospitalised. This study aims to systematically review the effectiveness of home healthcare for patients with CRDs and post-COVID-19 syndrome. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search on MEDLINE, CENTRAL, Embase and PsycINFO. We will include randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCT studies reported in full text and abstracts. No language restriction will be applied. We will include studies related to adults with a diagnosis of CRDs or post-COVID-19 syndrome that compared in-patient hospital care with any home healthcare. We will exclude studies with participants with neurological, mental diseases, cancer or pregnant women. Two review authors will screen abstracts and select the eligible studies. To investigate the risk of bias, we will use the Cochrane ‘Risk of Bias’ tool for RCT, and the Risk of Bias In Non-randomised Studies-of Interventions for non-RCT. We will use the five Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) considerations to assess the quality of the evidence. Patients and the public will be involved in the preparation, execution and implementation phases of the review. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: No ethical approval is required because only published data will be analysed. The publication of the results in peer-reviewed journals and at relevant conferences will guide the direction of future research in the field and healthcare practice. The results will also be disseminated in plain language on social media to disseminate the knowledge to society and the public interested in the topic.