Evaluation Methods in Clinical Health Technologies: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Medical Technology Evaluation
• Systematic Review Methodology

Background:

• Clinical health technologies encompass a range of digital tools used in healthcare.
• Evaluating these technologies is crucial for ensuring their efficacy and safety.
• Systematic reviews provide a robust framework for synthesizing existing research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and classify the evaluation methods employed for clinical health technologies.
• To identify trends in the types of technologies evaluated and the methodologies used.
• To highlight the most prevalent evaluation approaches in the field.

Main Methods:

• A systematic electronic search was conducted across Scopus, PubMed, and ISI databases.
• Search terms included "evaluation," "technology," and "health," limited to publications from 2011-2021.
• Initial screening of 8,149 references was followed by full-text review of 2,674 articles, resulting in 174 included studies.

Main Results:

• The majority of evaluated technologies were PC-based systems (N=107) compared to mobile apps (N=67).
• Primary technology applications included treatment (43%) and education (26%).
• Usability testing was the most common evaluation method (66%, N=115), while qualitative methods were least used (1%, N=2).

Conclusions:

• Usability evaluation is the predominant method for clinical health technologies.
• PC-based systems are more frequently evaluated than mobile applications.
• The findings underscore the importance of usability in the development and deployment of health technologies, especially in telemedicine.