Approaches to Assess E-Health Programs: A Scoping Review.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Digital Health Assessment
• e-Health Program Evaluation

Background:

• Growing adoption of e-Health technologies necessitates robust evidence for their assessment.
• Appraising e-Health programs is vital for guiding future investments and adoption strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize the current knowledge on the assessment of e-Health interventions.
• To provide an articulated overview of the literature on e-Health assessment methodologies.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review was conducted using the Arksey and O'Malley (2005) framework with enhancements by Peters et al. (2015).
• Searches of electronic databases and gray literature up to October 2019 were performed.
• Data extraction focused on study design, authors, year, country, and assessment approaches, followed by narrative synthesis.

Main Results:

• Fifteen distinct approaches for assessing e-Health programs were identified from 15 selected papers.
• The reviewed literature, published up to October 2019, was analyzed.
• A comprehensive tabulation of the identified assessment approaches was compiled.

Conclusions:

• The literature on e-Health program assessment is characterized by methodological heterogeneity.
• e-Health interventions are context-dependent, requiring consideration of maturity phase and assessment objectives.
• Tailoring assessment strategies to the specific context and goals of e-Health interventions is recommended.