Software and Mobile Apps to support the clinical diagnosis of Hansen's Disease: a scoping review
ABSTRACT
Hansen's Disease is a chronic infectious-contagious disease, which can evolve slowly and progressively. Furthermore, social, emotional, and economic impacts become the main burdens of this clinical condition. The World Health Organization encourages the early detection of leprosy and indicates the development of innovations in mHealth to help in this context. The use of computational tools is expanding in the health area, allowing greater agility and precision. The study aimed to identify and describe software and mobile applications, published in the scientific literature, that support the clinical diagnosis of leprosy cases. The scoping review was based on two electronic databases. Studies that met the inclusion criteria and were published until December 2022 were identified in the PUBMED and EMBASE electronic databases. Steps of evaluations were performed and independent reviewers examined all references to identify software and applications on existing mobiles to support the clinical diagnosis of leprosy. A total of 416 references were analyzed and three studies were included in the final review selection. Most studies were initiatives carried out in Brazil and were published between 2018 and 2021. The software and/or mobile applications found are SkinApp, Dermatology Web + Image Toll 3.0 and an App for leprosy screening. The tools exposed relevant positive aspects of clinical practice and some challenges that still need to be overcome. It is necessary that these technologies be evaluated by controlled tests that can certify the real effect of the intervention. This review suggested a scarcity of publications, of the scientific article type, that elucidate software and/or mobile applications intended to assist in the clinical diagnosis of leprosy. However, our discoveries made it possible to know the existing tools, the method of using them and the benefits promoted by health technologies. In view of the promising future of this topic, this review contributes with important knowledge in this scenario.
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