Health Providers' Perceptions and Experiences of Using mHealth for Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases: Qualitative...

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Informatics
• Chronic Disease Management

Background:

• Mobile health (mHealth) offers potential for managing chronic noncommunicable diseases (CNCDs).
• Limited evidence exists on health provider (HP) acceptance, a crucial factor for mHealth's success.
• This review investigates HP perceptions of mHealth barriers and facilitators for CNCDs.

Approach:

• Systematic literature search across major databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, etc.).
• Included qualitative and mixed-methods studies in English.
• Thematic synthesis approach for data analysis.

Key Points:

• Facilitators include empowering self-management, increasing efficiency, improving access and quality of care, enhancing satisfaction, and better usability.
• Barriers involve digital literacy, personal habits, additional burden, uncertain value, medicolegal fears, poor design, lack of resources/incentives, and policy gaps.
• Identified 6 facilitator themes and 8 barrier themes from 24 included studies.

Conclusions:

• Findings provide insights into beneficial factors and obstacles for mHealth adoption by HPs in CNCD management.
• Results can inform healthcare workers and policymakers aiming to enhance mHealth integration.
• Understanding HP perspectives is vital for successful mHealth implementation in chronic disease care.