Techniques for Improving Communication of Emotional Content in Text-Only Web-Based Therapeutic Communications: Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: Web-based typed exchanges are increasingly used by professionals to provide emotional support to patients. Although some empirical evidence exists to suggest that various strategies may be used to convey emotion during Web-based text communication, there has been no critical review of these data in patients with chronic conditions. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review was to identify the techniques used to convey emotion in written or typed Web-based communication and assess the empirical evidence regarding impact on communication and psychological outcomes. METHODS: An electronic search of databases, including MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library was conducted to identify literature published from 1990 to 2016. Searches were also conducted using Google Scholar, manual searching of reference lists of identified papers and manual searching of tables of contents for selected relevant journals. Data extraction and coding were completed by 2 reviewers (10.00% [573/5731] of screened papers, at abstract/title screening stage; 10.0% of screened [69/694] papers, at full-text screening stage). Publications were assessed against the eligibility criteria and excluded if they were duplicates, were not published in English, were published before 1990, referenced animal or nonhuman subjects, did not describe original research, were not journal papers, or did not empirically test the effect of one or more nonverbal communication techniques (for eg, smileys, emoticons, emotional bracketing, voice accentuation, trailers [ellipsis], and pseudowords) as part of Web-based or typed communication on communication-related variables, including message interpretation, social presence, the nature of the interaction (eg, therapeutic alliance), patient perceptions of the interaction (eg, participant satisfaction), or psychological outcomes, including depression, anxiety, and distress. RESULTS: A total of 6902 unique publications were identified. Of these, six publications met the eligibility criteria and were included in a narrative synthesis. All six studies addressed the effect of smileys or emoticons on participant responses, message interpretation, or social presence of the writer. None of these studies specifically targeted chronic conditions. It was found that emoticons were more effective in influencing the emotional impact of a message than no cue and that smileys and emoticons were able to convey a limited amount of emotion. No studies addressed other techniques for conveying emotion in written communication. No studies addressed the effects of any techniques on the nature of the interaction (eg, therapeutic alliance), patient perceptions of the interaction (eg, participant satisfaction), or psychological outcomes (depression, anxiety, or distress). CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for greater empirical attention to the effects of the various proposed techniques for conveying emotion in Web-based typed communications to inform health service providers regarding best-practice communication skills in this setting.