Digital health interventions
Digital health interventions, or digital healthcare interventions, commonly referenced as DHIs in scientific articles, have emerged as a alternative in healthcare that may enable improved health outcomes, increase healthcare delivery, and empower patients..[1] [2]. Commonly, it offers options to provide treatments, monitor health conditions, assist patients, and enable healthcare professionals to extend their services [3]. Health mobile applications have become more popular - as mentioned by Butcher and Hussain, in 2022, more than 100,000 healthcare mobile applications were offered in Apple and Google app stores [4]. These interventions may utilise various digital technologies and applications, besides mobile apps and websites, and they may comprehend wearables, biosensors, and Internet of Things [2]
Use
[edit]DHIs are usually applied for:
- Self-management tools: applications and platforms that help patients manage chronic conditions like diabetes.[5] or hypertension.[6]
- Self-education and health promotion tools: educational material designed to leverage the population's knowledge regarding one specific health topic and promote healthy behaviours [7].
- Digital therapeutics: Software-based interventions designed to prevent, manage, or treat medical disorders.[citation needed]
Murray et al. detailed that DHIs can encompass "information, psycho-education, personal stories, formal decision aids, behaviour change support, interactions with HCP and other patients, self-assessment or monitoring tools (questionnaires, wearables, monitors, and effective theory-based psychological interventions developed for face-to-face delivery such as cognitive behavioural therapy or mindfulness training."[2]
Current use
[edit]Digital healthcare interventions have being applied to different contexts and scenarios:
- To provide access to healthcare services, especially in underserved areas and geographically distant regions [8] [9].
- To facilitate access to people with disabilities and mobility limitations [10].
- To facilitate access to health and educational tools to informal caregivers [11].
- To reduce healthcare costs and increase distribution to population [12].
- To empower patients to take a more active role in their health management [13] [14].
While DHIs offer significant benefits, there are also challenges to consider. The digital divide is one of the most common, and it concerns disparities in access to technology and digital literacy [15]. Data privacy and security are another issue, as protecting sensitive health information may be challenging and subject to changes in laws and governmental regulations [16]
DHIs have expanded at an accelerated pace - according to Gentili et al. (2022), "more than 120 countries are prioritizing health-related digital progress" [17]. However, evidence of the DHI's cost-effectiveness is still limited [17]
References
[edit]- ^ Wienert J, Jahnel T, Maaß L (2022-06-28). "What are Digital Public Health Interventions? First Steps Toward a Definition and an Intervention Classification Framework". Journal of Medical Internet Research. 24 (6): e31921. doi:10.2196/31921. ISSN 1439-4456. PMC 9277526. PMID 35763320.
- ^ a b c Murray E, Hekler EB, Andersson G, Collins LM, Doherty A, Hollis C, Rivera DE, West R, Wyatt JC (November 2016). "Evaluating Digital Health Interventions". American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 51 (5): 843–851. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2016.06.008. PMC 5324832. PMID 27745684.
- ^ Kim HS, Kwon IH, Cha WC (2021-04-30). "Future and Development Direction of Digital Healthcare". Healthcare Informatics Research. 27 (2): 95–101. doi:10.4258/hir.2021.27.2.95. ISSN 2093-369X. PMC 8137879. PMID 34015874.
- ^ Butcher CJ, Hussain W (July 2022). "Digital healthcare: the future". Future Healthcare Journal. 9 (2): 113–117. doi:10.7861/fhj.2022-0046. PMC 9345235. PMID 35928188.
- ^ Stephen DA, Nordin A, Nilsson J, Persenius M (December 2022). "Using mHealth applications for self-care – An integrative review on perceptions among adults with type 1 diabetes". BMC Endocrine Disorders. 22 (1): 138. doi:10.1186/s12902-022-01039-x. ISSN 1472-6823. PMC 9131554. PMID 35614419.
- ^ Bashi N, Fatehi F, Mosadeghi-Nik M, Askari MS, Karunanithi M (2020-03-09). "Digital health interventions for chronic diseases: a scoping review of evaluation frameworks". BMJ Health & Care Informatics. 27 (1): e100066. doi:10.1136/bmjhci-2019-100066. ISSN 2632-1009. PMC 7252973. PMID 32156751.
- ^ Wongsomboon V, Queiroz AA, Alvarado Avila A, Mongrella M, Saber R, Li DH, Moskowitz DA, Mustanski B, Macapagal K (2024-10-12). "Acceptability of 'Humpr': An Online Tool to Educate Adolescent Sexual Minority Males About Sexual Networking Applications". The Journal of Sex Research. 61 (8): 1158–1167. doi:10.1080/00224499.2023.2273935. ISSN 0022-4499. PMC 11130072. PMID 38016031.
- ^ Ward LA, Shah GH, Waterfield KC (2023-08-01). "Clinical and Demographic Attributes of Patients with Diabetes Associated with the Utilization of Telemedicine in an Urban Medically Underserved Population Area". BioMedInformatics. 3 (3): 605–615. doi:10.3390/biomedinformatics3030041. ISSN 2673-7426.
- ^ Zaidi S, Kazi AM, Riaz A, Ali A, Najmi R, Jabeen R, Khudadad U, Sayani S (2020-09-17). "Operability, Usefulness, and Task-Technology Fit of an mHealth App for Delivering Primary Health Care Services by Community Health Workers in Underserved Areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan: Qualitative Study". Journal of Medical Internet Research. 22 (9): e18414. doi:10.2196/18414. ISSN 1438-8871. PMC 7530697. PMID 32940612.
- ^ Jones M, DeRuyter F, Morris J (2020-01-07). "The Digital Health Revolution and People with Disabilities: Perspective from the United States". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17 (2): 381. doi:10.3390/ijerph17020381. ISSN 1660-4601.
- ^ Biliunaite I, Kazlauskas E, Sanderman R, Andersson G (2021-11-12). "Process Evaluation of Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Intervention for Informal Caregivers". Frontiers in Medicine. 8. doi:10.3389/fmed.2021.725510. ISSN 2296-858X. PMC 8632733. PMID 34869422.
- ^ Tan RK, Wu D, Day S, Zhao Y, Larson HJ, Sylvia S, Tang W, Tucker JD (2022-03-25). "Digital approaches to enhancing community engagement in clinical trials". npj Digital Medicine. 5 (1): 37. doi:10.1038/s41746-022-00581-1. ISSN 2398-6352. PMC 8956701. PMID 35338241.
- ^ Sham S, Shiwlani S, Kirshan Kumar S, Bai P, Bendari A (2024-04-03). "Empowering Patients Through Digital Health Literacy and Access to Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) in the Developing World". Cureus. 16 (4): e57527. doi:10.7759/cureus.57527. ISSN 2168-8184. PMC 11066815. PMID 38707104.
- ^ Choun DL, Petre A (2022). Digital health and patient data: empowering patients in the healthcare ecosystem (1st ed.). Boca Raton: Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-1-032-10556-7.
- ^ Avalos MR, Aguilera A (2022-07-21), "Digital equity and inclusion in technology-based mental health services", Digital Transformation and Social Well-Being (1 ed.), London: Routledge, pp. 115–127, doi:10.4324/9781003312208-11, ISBN 978-1-003-31220-8, retrieved 2024-09-28
- ^ Stanhaus A (2023). Privacy Self-Management in Health Care: A Means to Many Ends. Thesis (Thesis). My University, My University. doi:10.7302/8174. hdl:2027.42/177717.
- ^ a b Gentili A, Failla G, Melnyk A, Puleo V, Tanna GL, Ricciardi W, Cascini F (2022-08-11). "The cost-effectiveness of digital health interventions: A systematic review of the literature". Frontiers in Public Health. 10. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.787135. ISSN 2296-2565. PMC 9403754. PMID 36033812.
Further reading
[edit]- Classification of digital interventions, services and applications in health: a shared language to describe the uses of digital technology for health (2nd ed.). Geneva: World Health Organization. 2023. ISBN 978-92-4-008194-9.
- de Siqueira Silva Í, Silva CR, Lopes RH, de Araújo AJ, de Figueirêdo RC, de Goes Bay O, Lapão LV, Xavier PB, Uchôa SA (2023). "Digital health interventions and quality of home-based primary care for older adults: A scoping review protocol". Frontiers in Public Health. 10. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.1022587. PMC 9870288. PMID 36699882.
- Erku D, Khatri R, Endalamaw A, Wolka E, Nigatu F, Zewdie A, Assefa Y (2023). "Digital Health Interventions to Improve Access to and Quality of Primary Health Care Services: A Scoping Review". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 20 (19): 6854. doi:10.3390/ijerph20196854. PMID 37835125.
- Krukowski RA, Ross KM, Western MJ, Cooper R, Busse H, Forbes C, Kuntsche E, Allmeta A, Silva AM, John-Akinola YO, König LM (2024). "Digital health interventions for all? Examining inclusivity across all stages of the digital health intervention research process". Trials. 25 (1): 98. doi:10.1186/s13063-024-07937-w. PMC 10826214. PMID 38291539.
- Murray E, Hekler EB, Andersson G, Collins LM, Doherty A, Hollis C, Rivera DE, West R, Wyatt JC (2016). "Evaluating Digital Health Interventions". American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 51 (5): 843–851. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2016.06.008. PMC 5324832. PMID 27745684.
- Soobiah C, Cooper M, Kishimoto V, Bhatia RS, Scott T, Maloney S, Larsen D, Wijeysundera HC, Zelmer J, Gray CS, Desveaux L (2020). "Identifying optimal frameworks to implement or evaluate digital health interventions: A scoping review protocol". BMJ Open. 10 (8): e037643. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037643. PMC 7430416. PMID 32792444.
- Xiong S, Lu H, Peoples N, Duman EK, Najarro A, Ni Z, Gong E, Yin R, Ostbye T, Palileo-Villanueva LM, Doma R, Kafle S, Tian M, Yan LL (2023). "Digital health interventions for non-communicable disease management in primary health care in low-and middle-income countries". npj Digital Medicine. 6. doi:10.1038/s41746-023-00764-4. PMID 36725977.