Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Mar;27(1):e100066.
doi: 10.1136/bmjhci-2019-100066.

Digital health interventions for chronic diseases: a scoping review of evaluation frameworks

Nazli Bashi  1   2 , Farhad Fatehi  3   4 , Mahsa Mosadeghi-Nik  5 , Marzieh S Askari  5 , Mohan Karunanithi  3
Affiliations

Digital health interventions for chronic diseases: a scoping review of evaluation frameworks

Nazli Bashi et al. BMJ Health Care Inform. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Monitoring and evaluations of digital health (DH) solutions for the management of chronic diseases are quite heterogeneous and evidences around evaluating frameworks are inconsistent. An evidenced-based framework is needed to inform the evaluation process and rationale of such interventions. We aimed to explore the nature, extent and components of existing DH frameworks for chronic diseases.

Methods: This review was conducted based on the five steps of Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review methodology. Out of 172 studies identified from, PubMed, Embase and Web of Science, 11 met our inclusion criteria. The reviewed studies developed DH frameworks for chronic diseases and published between 2010 and 2018.

Results: According to WHO guidelines for monitoring and evaluation of DH interventions, we identified seven Conceptual frameworks, two Results frameworks, one Logical framework and one Theory of change. The frameworks developed for providing interventions such as self-management, achieving personal goals and reducing relapse for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and severe mental health. A few studies reported evaluation of the frameworks using randomised clinical trials (n=3) and feasibility testing via Likert scale survey (n=2). A wide range of outcomes were reported including access to care, cost-effectiveness, behavioural outcomes, patient-provider communications, technology acceptance and user experience.

Conclusion: There is a lack of evidence on the application of consistent DH frameworks. Future research should address the use of evidence-based frameworks into the research design, monitoring and evaluation process. This review explores the nature of DH frameworks for the management of chronic diseases and provides examples to guide monitoring and evaluation of interventions.

Keywords: BMJ Health Informatics; health care; medical informatics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Steps of Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review methodology.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Study flow diagram.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of frameworks based on WHO guidelines.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abegunde DO, Mathers CD, Adam T, et al. . The burden and costs of chronic diseases in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet 2007;370:1929–38.10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61696-1 - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization Global diffusion of eHealth: making universal health coverage achievable: report of the third global survey on eHealth. In.: World Health Organization, 2016.
    1. Gurman TA, Rubin SE, Roess AA. Effectiveness of mHealth behavior change communication interventions in developing countries: a systematic review of the literature. J Health Commun 2012;17 Suppl 1:82–104.10.1080/10810730.2011.649160 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Marcolino MS, Oliveira JAQ, D'Agostino M, et al. . The impact of mHealth interventions: systematic review of systematic reviews. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2018;6:e2310.2196/mhealth.8873 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Steinhubl SR, Muse ED, Topol EJ. The emerging field of mobile health. Sci Transl Med 2015;7:283rv28310.1126/scitranslmed.aaa3487 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types