A Descriptive Review: Six Pediatric Personal Health Records

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Pediatric Healthcare
• Digital Health Tools

Background:

• Personal health records (PHRs) are increasingly important in managing patient information.
• Pediatric PHRs are tools designed to support the health management of children.
• Existing literature highlights the need for improved digital health solutions in pediatrics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize themes and concepts from academic studies on pediatric personal health records (PHRs).
• To identify reported features and advocate for further development of pediatric PHRs.
• To explore the potential of PHRs in improving healthcare for children with special needs, well-children, and adolescents.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive review of academic studies on pediatric PHRs.
• Literature search conducted in Medline, EBSCO, and CINAHL databases.
• Synthesis of themes and concepts, with reported features summarized in a frequency table.

Main Results:

• Six studies from four countries were included, focusing on pediatric PHRs.
• Studies covered children with special health care needs, well-children, and adolescents.
• All reviewed studies emphasized the need for continued development of pediatric PHR tools.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric PHRs are valuable tools with potential for healthcare improvement.
• Further development is advocated to enhance the functionality and usability of pediatric PHRs.
• Involving children in the design phase is a key recommendation for future pediatric PHR development.