Self-management eHealth solutions for menopause - a systematic scoping review

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Women's Health
• Information Science

Background:

• Menopause significantly impacts women's health and quality of life.
• Access to reliable information is vital for effective menopause management.
• eHealth tools offer a potential avenue for delivering menopause-related information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of scientific evidence on eHealth information tools for menopause.
• To assess the quality, requirements, and intervention outcomes of these tools.
• To identify gaps and areas for improvement in current eHealth menopause resources.

Main Methods:

• Systematic search of multiple electronic databases (Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, etc.) from 1974 to March 2022.
• Inclusion criteria applied to identify relevant records concerning eHealth tools for menopause.
• Analysis of study types including cross-sectional, cohort, randomized controlled trials, and literature reviews.

Main Results:

• 1773 records were initially identified, with 28 studies meeting the inclusion criteria.
• The reviewed studies encompassed various research designs, including qualitative analyses, cohort studies, RCTs, and reviews.
• A significant portion of studies focused on the content and impact of eHealth interventions for menopause.

Conclusions:

• eHealth-based information tools hold considerable potential for menopause management.
• Current eHealth tools often exhibit deficiencies in readability and balanced information presentation.
• Recommendations include emphasizing participatory design, improving readability, ensuring content balance, and utilizing multimedia for enhanced understanding.