POSC287 Improving Outcomes Research in Digital Health - Results of a Systematic Scoping Literature Review

Abstract

While remote healthcare practices have accelerated due to the pandemic, understanding the effectiveness of digital health interventions can be exasperating due to the confusion around definitions of what constitutes digital health. We conducted a scoping review to provide an overview of definitions in systematic reviews including the context for their use e.g., government, nonprofit organization, etc. to derive those which could be most appropriate for outcomes research. A literature search was undertaken for the past 5 years (2015-2020) on the major terms in digital health (n=38) alongside synonyms of definition as a key term and a filter for systematic reviews. Databases searched included Embase, PubMed/Medline, Cochrane Library and EconLit. Independent review by teams of 2 reviewers was employed at each stage with reconciliation of any misalignment within teams or a third reviewer. Data on definitions employed for each term as well as the context for the definition was extracted into a recording spreadsheet. The search yielded 2,610 abstracts of which 545 full text articles were independently reviewed leading to 214 eligible papers for data extraction. Altogether we found 337 definitions of which 154 were high level terms and 183 were secondary terms. We identified four unique definitions of digital health, mainly defining the terms as a synonym or overarching concept of eHealth, mHealth, telehealth “mHealth” was the most popular high level term 75 (18 original +57 referenced) followed by “eHealth” and “telehealth” with 48 (18+30), and 27 (2+25) total (original + referenced) definitions, respectively. Our research suggests that including more specific information in the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) such as the healthcare setting, the specifics of the technology used, patient population and outcomes under consideration as well as the comparison used would enhance future research efforts.