Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Aug 6, 2025
Date Accepted: Dec 9, 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Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited.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.
Digital health technologies in heart failure and health inequity: Protocol for a scoping review of access and use in routine practice.
ABSTRACT
Background:
Heart failure (HF) is a global health challenge characterized by high mortality, morbidity, and economic burden. The development of digital health technologies offers promising tools for prevention, early detection, and management of HF, potentially improving prognosis and reducing costs. However, these innovations may also widen existing health disparities related to socioeconomic status, geography, and race or ethnicity.
Objective:
This scoping review will investigate whether digital health interventions contribute to socioeconomic, geographic, and racial or ethnic inequities in the access to and use of digital health technologies in routine practice.
Methods:
The writing of this protocol followed methodological framework by H. Arksey & L. O’Malley, including (1) identifying the research question, (2) identifying relevant studies, (3) selecting studies to be included in the review, (4) charting the data, and (5) collating, summarizing, and reporting the results. Eligible studies must examine digital health technologies in adults (≥18 years) with any type of HF and report on social determinants of health, geography, or race and ethnicity. Observational study designs will be included. Searches will be conducted in Embase, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus. A two-stage screening process will determine study eligibility, and data will be extracted using a standardized form.
Results:
The project is funded. Data collection is expected to begin by the end of 2025.
Conclusions:
This scoping review is expected to identify patterns of inequity in the access to and use of digital health technologies for heart failure care, providing critical insights to inform more equitable implementation strategies. Clinical Trial: Not relevant
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