Exploring Hypertension Patient Engagement Using mHealth. A Scoping Review

Widespread use of smartphone applications has opened new perspectives for home Blood Pressure monitoring based on mobile health (mHealth) technologies. Patient engagement has been dubbed 'the silver bullet of the century'.

The aim was to identify the impact of engagement in patients with blood pressure using mHealth.

This scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Ark0sey and O'Malley framework.

Pubmed, CINAHL, Scopus and PsycInfo. This review considered both qualitative and quantitative primary searches. We excluded articles belonging to grey literature, secondary literature and paediatric setting. Between September and November 2023, the review was carried out.

A total of 569 documents were retrieved from the four databases. After the deduplication process, five articles were removed. The selection process based on titles and abstracts included 133 records. Ten studies were selected and analysed. The reviewers identified the following themes: device type and mobile applications, engagement, blood pressure control, health behaviours and hypertension knowledge. Self-management using digital technologies in the home is strongly linked to engagement, reduction and control of Blood Pressure, improved health practices and increased knowledge of hypertension. Healthcare interventions using IT platforms have had a significant impact on the health outcomes of patients diagnosed with hypertension.

The review findings suggest the value of these technologies in improving patient engagement and, consequently, adherence to antihypertensive treatment and achieving blood pressure control rates, potentially reducing cardiovascular risk.