Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Nov 11, 2024
Date Accepted: May 5, 2025
Digital Health Interventions Targeting Psychological Health in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Protocol for a Scoping Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Autism is a complex, incurable disorder that requires lifelong care, often placing significant psychological strain on parents, particularly mothers. The impact of caring for a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on parental psychological health has become a public health concern. Although various interventions exist to enhance the psychological well-being of parents, the potential of digital health interventions in this context remains underexplored.
Objective:
This scoping review aims to systematically assess the availability of digital health interventions targeting psychological health of parents of children with ASD and evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions in improving the parental psychological health.
Methods:
We will conduct a comprehensive review by searching through six databases: (1) CINAHL, (2) Ovid EMBASE, (3) Ovid Global Health, (4) Ovid MEDLINE, (5) Ovid PsycINFO, and (6) Web of Science. The search will use both controlled vocabulary and synonymous free-text terms to capture the concepts of autism and digital health. Search strategies will be adjusted for fit the syntax appropriate for each database. This scoping review will consider all types of study designs, including both quantitative and qualitative studies. Inclusion will be limited to English-language studies, with no restrictions on publication date. Results will be uploaded into EndNote, and deduplicated articles will be removed. The final set of articles will be screened using Covidence systematic review software (Veritas Health Information, Melbourne, Australia.) ensuring compliance with the inclusion criteria. Findings will be presented using diagrams or tables, accompanied by narrative summaries in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews.
Results:
The initial study selection based on keywords was completed in August 2024, and screening and evidence synthesis finalized in October 2024. The manuscript is currently in preparation.
Conclusions:
The findings of this study will provide a comprehensive overview of the digital health intervention commonly used to support psychological health of parents of children with ASD, and their effectiveness. The insights gained will help identify gaps in current research, guiding future studies and funding priorities, and will contribute to the development of practice guidelines aimed at enhancing parental psychological health.
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Copyright
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