JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Individuals who are affected by an injury to the brain or spinal cord at a young age will have to manage a complex health situation with a variety of functional and cognitive challenges. The users’ level of health literacy can be detrimental for their ability to navigate their daily life. In todays’ situation, where health information and health services increasingly is being disseminated digitally, digital tools can help users make proactive choices and enhance autonomy. However, to realize this potential, it is important to know which tools are available, in what regard they are tailored for end-users, and if they are developed and evaluated with scientific evidence.

Objective:

In this scoping review we aimed to map available digital tools in the form of mobile applications or interactive e-learning resources for a target population of children, adolescents and young adults with injury to the brain and/or spinal cord, and to assess evidence for the usability and efficacy of such tools to enhance health literacy.

Methods:

We conducted a scoping review following the Joanna Briggs Institute framework for scoping reviews and the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews). Searches involved a systematic search in key bibliographic databases, in grey literature, in specific search engines to identify mobile applications, and in selected relevant websites of organizations. To be eligible for inclusion, sources had to address our target population and involve digital tools with active engagement of the end-user.

Results:

Of 612 identified scientific records from databases, two studies were eligible for data extraction. The grey literature search resulted in six more eligible publications, resulting in a final number of eight included published papers. The searches for mobile applications identified 114 apps for consideration, of which 30 were included. Our findings show that the evidence base for the use and efficacy of digital applications enhancing health literacy for our target population is sparse. We identified very little reported user experience. The number of tailored apps was low, suggesting that general health apps are very dominant compared to diagnosis- and age-specific apps. Our findings imply that it is difficult to navigate and understand privacy management and security of available apps from the information given in app stores.

Conclusions:

Published evidence for the usefulness and efficacy of digital tools in the form of mobile applications and interactive e-learning websites for improving health literacy in our target population of children, adolescents and young adults with injury to the brain or spinal cord is sparse. Compared to the abundant number of available general health and wellness-apps, there are few tailored digital tools with active end-user involvement. To evaluate privacy management and security of available apps is a challenge. Clinical Trial: Open Science Framework https://osf.io/k4r35/overview