Medicine:Digital health interventions

From HandWiki
Short description: Healthcare interventions and treatments delivered via digital platforms

Digital health interventions, or digital healthcare interventions, commonly referenced as DHIs in scientific articles, are technology-based solutions created to support healthcare systems, improve health outcomes, and enhance patient engagement in healthcare. Digital health interventions have emerged as an 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. As of 2022, over 100,000 healthcare apps were available in major app stores, underscoring the growing integration of digital tools in healthcare management.[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

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][8]
  • Digital therapeutics: Software-based interventions designed to prevent, manage, or treat medical disorders. . Digital therapeutics refer to software-based interventions designed to prevent, manage, or treat specific medical conditions, often integrating behavioral health therapies.
  • Clinical documentation support: tools used by healthcare professionals to assist with drafting and reviewing clinical notes, including ambient documentation systems, such as those used by Twofold Health, used alongside electronic health records.[9][10]

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

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.[11][12]
  • To facilitate access to people with disabilities and mobility limitations.[13]
  • To facilitate access to health and educational tools to informal caregivers.[14]
  • To reduce healthcare costs and increase distribution to population.[15]
  • To empower patients to take a more active role in their health management.[16][17]
  • To support healthier dietary behaviors in children and adolescents, especially by involving parents in interventions; a 2025 systematic review found that mobile- and web-based interventions were particularly effective in improving fruit intake, and that targeting parents rather than children directly may reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in children under school age.[18]

While DHIs offer significant benefits, there are also challenges to consider. A major challenge for DHIs is the digital divide, which includes disparities in access to technology, internet connectivity, and digital literacy, especially in underserved populations. The digital divide is one of the most common, and it concerns disparities in access to technology and digital literacy.[19] Data privacy and security are another issue, as protecting sensitive health information may be challenging and subject to changes in laws and governmental regulations. The expansion of digital health interventions offers a promising path to reduce healthcare disparities, but it also requires addressing issues such as user engagement, long-term sustainability, and the inclusivity of various demographic groups.[20]

DHIs have expanded at an accelerated pace - according to Gentili et al. (2022), "more than 120 countries are prioritizing health-related digital progress".[21] However, evidence of the DHI's cost-effectiveness is still limited.[21] While the potential for cost savings is clear, studies evaluating the cost-effectiveness of DHIs are still limited, and further research is needed to assess their long-term financial impact. Despite the rapid growth in the adoption of DHIs, concerns about their effectiveness in diverse populations and their integration into existing healthcare systems continue to warrant further examination.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "What are Digital Public Health Interventions? First Steps Toward a Definition and an Intervention Classification Framework". Journal of Medical Internet Research 24 (6). 2022. doi:10.2196/31921. PMID 35763320. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Murray, Elizabeth; Hekler, Eric B.; Andersson, Gerhard; Collins, Linda M.; Doherty, Aiden; Hollis, Chris; Rivera, Daniel E.; West, Robert et al. (November 2016). "Evaluating Digital Health Interventions". American Journal of Preventive Medicine 51 (5): 843–851. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2016.06.008. PMID 27745684. 
  3. ↑ Kim, Hun-Sung; Kwon, In Ho; Cha, Won Chul (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. PMID 34015874. 
  4. ↑ Butcher, Charles JT; Hussain, Wajid (July 2022). "Digital healthcare: the future". Future Healthcare Journal 9 (2): 113–117. doi:10.7861/fhj.2022-0046. PMID 35928188. 
  5. ↑ Stephen, Divya Anna; Nordin, Anna; Nilsson, Jan; Persenius, Mona (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. PMID 35614419. 
  6. ↑ Bashi, Nazli; Fatehi, Farhad; Mosadeghi-Nik, Mahsa; Askari, Marzieh S.; Karunanithi, Mohan (2020-03-09). "Digital health interventions for chronic diseases: a scoping review of evaluation frameworks". BMJ Health & Care Informatics 27 (1). doi:10.1136/bmjhci-2019-100066. ISSN 2632-1009. PMID 32156751. PMC 7252973. https://informatics.bmj.com/content/27/1/e100066. 
  7. ↑ Wongsomboon, Val; Queiroz, Artur AFLN; Alvarado Avila, Andrés; Mongrella, Melissa; Saber, Rana; Li, Dennis H.; Moskowitz, David A.; Mustanski, Brian et al. (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. PMID 38016031. 
  8. ↑ Yvonne A. W. Ho, Mona J. G. M. Ridder (2016-02-09). "Effectiveness of Online Health Education in Promoting Healthy Behavior: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials". Journal of Medical Internet Research 11 (1): 3. doi:10.1186/s11671-015-1208-5. PMID 26732276. 
  9. ↑ NP-C, Dr Jessica Chung, DNP (2024-09-13). "Top 8 AI Scribes Transforming Medical Practices" (in en). https://www.ibanurses.com/post/top-8-ai-scribes-transforming-medical-practices. 
  10. ↑ Kuhn, Thomson; Basch, Peter; Barr, Michael; Yackel, Thomas; Medical Informatics Committee of the American College of Physicians (2015-02-17). "Clinical documentation in the 21st century: executive summary of a policy position paper from the American College of Physicians". Annals of Internal Medicine 162 (4): 301–303. doi:10.7326/M14-2128. ISSN 1539-3704. PMID 25581028. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25581028. 
  11. ↑ Ward, Lisa Ariellah; Shah, Gulzar H.; Waterfield, Kristie C. (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. 
  12. ↑ Zaidi, Shehla; Kazi, Abdul Momin; Riaz, Atif; Ali, Ammarah; Najmi, Rabia; Jabeen, Rawshan; Khudadad, Umerdad; Sayani, Saleem (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). doi:10.2196/18414. ISSN 1438-8871. PMID 32940612. 
  13. ↑ Jones, Mike; DeRuyter, Frank; Morris, John (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. PMID 31936006. 
  14. ↑ Biliunaite, Ieva; Kazlauskas, Evaldas; Sanderman, Robbert; Andersson, Gerhard (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. PMID 34869422. 
  15. ↑ Tan, Rayner K. J.; Wu, Dan; Day, Suzanne; Zhao, Yang; Larson, Heidi J.; Sylvia, Sean; Tang, Weiming; Tucker, Joseph D. (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. PMID 35338241. 
  16. ↑ Sham, Sunder; Shiwlani, Sheena; Kirshan Kumar, Sanjay; Bai, Prinka; Bendari, Ahmed (2024-04-03). "Empowering Patients Through Digital Health Literacy and Access to Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) in the Developing World". Cureus 16 (4). doi:10.7759/cureus.57527. ISSN 2168-8184. PMID 38707104. 
  17. ↑ Choun, Disa Lee; Petre, Anca (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. 
  18. ↑ Talens, Clara; Quinta, Noelia da; Adebayo, Folasade A.; Erkkola, Maijaliisa; Heikkilä, Maria; Bargiel-Matusiewicz, Kamilla; Ziółkowska, Natalia; Rioja, Patricia et al. (2025-05-20). "Mobile- and Web-Based Interventions for Promoting Healthy Diets, Preventing Obesity, and Improving Health Behaviors in Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials" (in EN). Journal of Medical Internet Research 27 (1). doi:10.2196/60602. PMID 40392587. 
  19. ↑ Avalos, Marvyn R. Arévalo; Aguilera, Adrian (2022-07-21), "Digital equity and inclusion in technology-based mental health services", Digital Transformation and Social Well-Being (London: Routledge): pp. 115–127, doi:10.4324/9781003312208-11, ISBN 978-1-003-31220-8, https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781003312208/chapters/10.4324/9781003312208-11, retrieved 2024-09-28 
  20. ↑ 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.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Gentili, Andrea; Failla, Giovanna; Melnyk, Andriy; Puleo, Valeria; Tanna, Gian Luca Di; Ricciardi, Walter; Cascini, Fidelia (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. PMID 36033812. Bibcode: 2022FrPH...1087135G. 
  22. ↑ Sarah J. Williams, Robert L. Green (2021). "Digital Health Interventions: A Comprehensive Review of Evidence and Future Prospects". Journal of Medical Internet Research 30 (3): 351–358. doi:10.1037/pha0000434. PMID 33779196. 

Further reading



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