Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
Date Submitted: Nov 1, 2021
Date Accepted: May 17, 2022
Date Submitted to PubMed: May 23, 2022
Assessing the implementation of digital innovations in response to COVID-19 to address public health key functions: A scoping review of academic and non-academic literature
ABSTRACT
Background:
Digital technologies have been central to the efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, a range of literature has reported on developments regarding the implementation of new digital technologies for COVID-19 related surveillance, prevention and control.
Objective:
In this study, scoping reviews of academic and non-academic literature were undertaken to obtain an overview of the evidence regarding digital innovations implemented to address public health key functions in the context of COVID-19. The study expands upon the work of existing reviews by drawing on additional data sources and by considering a literature published over a longer timeframe.
Methods:
We conducted a scoping review of the academic literature published between 1st January 2020 and 15th September 2020, supplemented by a further scoping review of selected non-academic literature published between 1st January 2020 and 13th October 2020. Both reviews followed the PRISMA approach.
Results:
226 academic articles and 406 non-academic articles were included. Included articles provided evidence of 561 (academic literature) and 497 (non-academic literature) unique ‘digital innovations’ respectively. The most common implementation settings for digital innovations are the United States of America, China, India and the United Kingdom. Technologies most commonly employed by digital innovations are those belonging to the high-level technology group ‘integrated and ubiquitous fixed and mobile networks’. The public health key functions most commonly addressed by digital innovations are ‘communication and collaboration’ and ‘surveillance and monitoring’.
Conclusions:
Digital innovations implemented in response to COVID-19 have been wide-ranging in terms of their implementation setting, the digital technologies used, and the public health functions addressed. However, evidence gathered through this study also points to a range of barriers that have impacted the successful implementation of digital technologies for public health functions. It is also evident that many digital innovations implemented in response to COVID-19 have yet to be formally evaluated or assessed.
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