JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

In the US, cancer is more prevalent in racial and ethnic minorities, rural, and low-income people. When compared to non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks or African-Americans have higher cancer mortality while Hispanics are more likely to be diagnosed with infection-related cancers. In addition, people who live in persistent poverty areas are more vulnerable to cancer mortality. Tailoring health information technologies is one way to bridge the gap between health inequities and cancer care to provide these populations with relevant health information and cancer care. Cultural tailoring in health care can be defined as adapting interventions for specific populations with an awareness of that population’s influences on behaviors such as their values, history, and attitudes.

Objective:

The goal of the current study will be to understand what elements of tailoring health information technologies are most effective amongst different underserved populations and to identify ways of incorporating these elements to improve the acceptability and effectiveness of technology-based interventions.

Methods:

A systematic review will be conducted to examine the ways in which previous studies culturally tailored health technologies to underserved populations. This review will be guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The database search will be conducted using two academic databases: PubMed and Scopus. We will include peer-reviewed journal articles published in the English language and conducted in the United States.

Results:

This protocol was submitted before data collection. The search strategy, citation screening, and data extraction will commence in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines and the published protocol. Findings will be expected by Fall of 2025. A preliminary search produced a total of 765 articles. Two hundred twenty-one (n=221) articles were duplicate records and removed, leaving a total of 544 unique articles. The inclusion and exclusion criteria will be strictly followed in performing the forthcoming study selection. Data will be summarized narratively to assess the elements of tailoring patient-centered technologies to underserved populations.

Conclusions:

There is a need for research on effective ways to develop health information technologies that are more accessible to underserved populations.