Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Oct 1, 2024
Date Accepted: May 12, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Use of technology to support health providers’ deliver care in low and low-middle income countries: A systematic umbrella review, 2013-24
ABSTRACT
Background:
Healthcare providers are at the forefront of the digital health transformation, which promises to revolutionise healthcare systems globally. Despite the growing interest, digital health innovations (DHIs) are often implemented without sufficient evidence, leading to numerous short-lived projects and a limited understanding of their impact on health systems and outcomes. In 2023, the WHO introduced the Classification of Digital Health Interventions, identifying four core DHI user groups.
Objective:
This review aims to synthesise evidence on the impact of DHIs designed for healthcare providers in low and low-middle-income countries.
Methods:
We conducted an umbrella review, analysing systematic reviews on DHIs for healthcare providers. Data were extracted using deductive coding and thematically analysed according to the 11 health system functions outlined in the WHO’s 2023 Classification.
Results:
The review included 98 articles, most focused on telemedicine (61% of articles reviewed). Although many systematic reviews on DHIs exist, most are based on small-scale, disease-specific projects, with few addressing clinical effectiveness, cost, or broader health system functions.
Conclusions:
While digital health has the potential to significantly enhance healthcare delivery in resource-limited settings, the current evidence base is inadequate to assess its effectiveness. However, the growing emphasis on clinical trial protocols for large-scale, multidimensional DHIs suggests that the evidence base will expand in the coming years. Clinical Trial: PROSPERO (#586285)
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