Mobile Health Interventions Across the Stroke Care Continuum: A Scoping Review.

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Digital Health
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Stroke impacts millions globally, necessitating comprehensive care across multiple phases.
• Mobile health (mHealth) technologies offer potential benefits throughout the stroke care continuum.
• Current research lacks a structured overview of mHealth applications across all stroke care phases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically map the landscape of mHealth interventions used in stroke care.
• To identify the distribution and focus of mHealth technologies across the stroke care continuum.
• To pinpoint research gaps and future directions for mHealth in stroke management.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for studies published between January 2019 and March 2025.
• Included studies evaluated mHealth interventions directly performing diagnostic, therapeutic, or rehabilitative functions in stroke patients.
• Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria, encompassing various research designs and originating from eight countries.

Main Results:

• mHealth research in stroke is concentrated in acute diagnosis (six studies) and chronic rehabilitation (ten studies).
• Only one study addressed secondary prevention, and two focused on early rehabilitation.
• Interventions were phase-specific, with smartphone platforms dominant in acute care and wearables in rehabilitation, indicating a fragmented landscape.

Conclusions:

• The current mHealth stroke landscape is fragmented and siloed, with interventions rarely integrated across care phases.
• A significant research gap exists in early rehabilitation and secondary prevention domains.
• Future research should prioritize integrated, cross-continuum mHealth solutions, particularly for early rehabilitation and cognitive/preventive aspects.