JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The rapid progression and integration of digital technologies into public health have reshaped the global landscape of health care delivery and disease prevention. In pursuit of better population health and health care accessibility, many countries have integrated digital interventions into their health care systems, such as online consultations, electronic health records, and telemedicine. Despite the increasing prevalence and relevance of digital technologies in public health and their varying definitions, there has been a dearth of studies examining whether these technologies align with the established definition and core characteristics of digital public health interventions. Hence, the imperative need for a scoping review emerges to explore the breadth of literature dedicated to this subject.

Objective:

This scoping review aims to outline real-world digital public health interventions for health promotion, primary to tertiary prevention including health care, and disease surveillance and monitoring. Additionally, we aim to map the reported intervention characteristics including their technical features and non-technical elements.

Methods:

The scoping review protocol was previously registered and published (registration number CRD42021265562). Original studies or reports of digital public health intervention focused on population health are eligible for this review. Five databases were searched for relevant literature: PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), IEEE Xplore, and the ACM Full-text collection. Intervention characteristics of each identified digital public health intervention, such as target groups, level of prevention or health care, digital health functions, intervention types, and public health functions, were extracted and mapped to classifications from existing literature.

Results:

The database search was last updated on October 5, 2022. In total, 15,701 records were identified and screened. After screening for titles and abstracts, 1,562 records were considered relevant, and their full-texts were assessed for eligibility. Finally, 185 full-texts were included, which reported 179 different digital public health interventions. Our analysis revealed a diverse landscape of interventions, with telemedical services, health apps, and electronic health records as dominant types. These interventions were found to target a wide range of populations and settings, demonstrating their adaptability. Furthermore, the analysis highlighted the multifaceted nature of digital interventions, necessitating precise definitions and standardized terminologies for effective collaboration and evaluation.

Conclusions:

This review underscores the diversity of digital public health interventions, both among and within intervention groups. Moreover, it highlights the importance of precise terminology for effective planning and evaluation. By emphasizing the need for clear definitions, distinct technological functions, and well-defined use cases, this review promotes cross-disciplinary collaboration and lays the foundation for international benchmarks and comparability within the field of global digital public health systems.