JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Digital health interventions, including apps and web-based services, are on the rise due to their facilitated access to target groups. The constant evolution of technology calls for participatory research methodologies to understand youth expectations and use. The creative and collaborative nature of co-design allows for active integration of youth desires and may enhance acceptability when it comes to digital health tools.

Objective:

The primary objective of this review is to assess the breadth of literature on digital health interventions which have been co-designed for and by young adults, including the types of available evidence, identification of key characteristics relevant to young adult co-design, and examination of research conduct in this space.

Methods:

The proposed scoping review will be conducted in accordance with the JBI Manual for Scoping Reviews. As well as the PRISMA-ScR checklist for reporting scoping reviews, an adaptation of Arksey and O’Malley’s 6 stage framework for ScR will be referenced. Peer-reviewed primary research where young adults (aged 15-35 years) were actively involved in the design and development process of digital health interventions will be collated for analyses. Five databases, including Medline (Ovid), Cochrane, CINAHL Plus, Google Scholar and Scopus, will be searched for relevant papers. Search strategies will be comprehensive to identify both published and unpublished literature. Relevant grey literature and secondary research will be excluded yet pooled for separate analysis and citation chaining.

Results:

Following data extraction according to the JBI results extraction instrument and independent quality assurance of included studies, narrative synthesis of each paper included in the final pool will allow for charting of data. Results will be presented in one or multiple forms including narrative, tabular and/or diagrammatic.

Conclusions:

The current protocol provides guidance for researchers who plan to conduct a similar style of investigation and promotes standardisation of the scoping review process. We anticipate the provision of an overview of participatory digital health research involving young adults, highlighting any gaps in this research area, as well as potential areas for further study.