Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Jan 1, 2023
Date Accepted: Aug 18, 2023
Health Providers’ Perceptions and Experiences of mHealth for Chronic Non-communicable Diseases: A Qualitative Systematic Review and Meta-synthesis
ABSTRACT
Background:
Mobile health (mHealth) technology has great potential for addressing the epidemic of chronic noncommunicable diseases (CNCDs) by assisting health providers (HPs) in managing these disorders. However, there is currently limited evidence on the acceptance of HPs for mHealth, which is a key prerequisite to harness this potential.
Objective:
This review aims to investigate perceptions and experiences of HPs regarding barriers and facilitators to mHealth utilization for CNCDs.
Methods:
We conducted a systematic search in Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library for studies that assessed perceptions and experiences of HPs regarding barriers and facilitators to mHealth utilization for CNCDs. Qualitative studies and mixed studies containing qualitative methods published in English were included. Data synthesis and interpretation were undertaken using a deductive iterative process.
Results:
In total, 10,569 studies were identified, and 20 studies met the inclusion criteria. Five themes related to the benefits were identified: empowering patient self-management, increasing efficiency, improving access to care, increasing the quality of care, and improving satisfaction. The barriers were categorized into three key themes: factors related to individual, technological, and social and economic factors. Individual factors included four subthemes: limited by digital literacy, personal habits, or health problems; concerned about an additional burden; questioning the value of mHealth technology; and fearing medicolegal risks. Technological factors included lack of comfortable design and experience. Social and economic factors included lack of resources, lack of incentives, lack of policy guidance and regulation, and worrisome side-effects resulting from the use of mHealth.
Conclusions:
This study contributes to the understanding of the beneficial factors and obstacles for mHealth adoption by HPs for CNCDs. The findings of this study may provide significant insights for healthcare workers and policymakers who seek to find ways to improve the adoption of mHealth by HPs for CNCDs.
Citation
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.