Digital Health in Cardiology: Time for Action

Mobile health, or mHealth, is the implementation of digital health services with mobile and wearable devices, and has ample potential to enhance self-management of chronic conditions, especially cardiovascular risk factors (e.g., blood pressure control and supporting tobacco cessation and physical activity). It remains ambiguous, however, whether such technologies can improve cardiovascular outcomes. More importantly, mHealth carries the additional challenge of digital health literacy, which demands particular skills complementary to general and health literacy. Populations at risk for limited health literacy are similarly vulnerable to having challenges with digital health literacy. We identify such challenges and outline solutions to improve access to digital health services and their use for individuals with limited digital health literacy. We present an 18-point “Digital Universal Precautions” as a mandate for health care organizations committed towards addressing and facilitating eHealth literacy. As health care institutions increasingly advance mHealth through delivery of on-line material and patient portals, they face the challenge of ensuring that digital health services and content are available to all patients.

Background Maintaining weight after weight loss is a major health challenge, and eHealth (electronic health) solutions may be a way to meet this challenge. Application of behavior change techniques (BCTs) and persuasive system design (PSD) principles in eHealth development may contribute to the design of technologies that positively influence behavior and motivation to support the sustainable health behavior change needed. Objective This review aimed to identify BCTs and PSD principles applied in eHealth interventions to support weight loss and weight loss maintenance, as well as techniques and principles applied to stimulate motivation and adherence for long-term weight loss maintenance. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted in PsycINFO, Ovid MEDLINE (including PubMed), EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, and AMED, from January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2018. Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review methodology was applied. Publications on eHealth interventions were included if focusing on weight loss or weight loss maintenance, in combination with motivation or adherence and behavior change. Results The search identified 317 publications, of which 45 met the inclusion criteria. Of the 45 publications, 11 (24%) focused on weight loss maintenance, and 34 (76%) focused on weight loss. Mobile phones were the most frequently used technology (28/45, 62%). Frequently used wearables were activity trackers (14/45, 31%), as well as other monitoring technologies such as wireless or digital scales (8/45, 18%). All included publications were anchored in behavior change theories. Feedback and monitoring and goals and planning were core behavior change technique clusters applied in the majority of included publications. Social support and associations through prompts and cues to support and maintain new habits were more frequently used in weight loss maintenance than weight loss interventions. In both types of interventions, frequently applied persuasive principles were self-monitoring, goal setting, and feedback. Tailoring, reminders, personalization, and rewards were additional principles frequently applied in weight loss maintenance interventions. Results did not reveal an ideal combination of techniques or principles to stimulate motivation, adherence, and weight loss maintenance. However, the most frequently mentioned individual techniques and principles applied to stimulate motivation were, personalization, simulation, praise, and feedback, whereas associations were frequently mentioned to stimulate adherence. eHealth interventions that found significant effects for weight loss maintenance all applied self-monitoring, feedback, goal setting, and shaping knowledge, combined with a human social support component to support healthy behaviors. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first review examining key BCTs and PSD principles applied in weight loss maintenance interventions compared with those of weight loss interventions. This review identified several techniques and principles applied to stimulate motivation and adherence. Future research should aim to examine which eHealth design combinations can be the most effective in support of long-term behavior change and weight loss maintenance.

There is growing evidence of the positive effects of electronic health (eHealth) interventions for patients with chronic illness, but implementation of such interventions into practice is challenging. Implementation strategies that potentially impact implementation outcomes and implementation success have been identified. Which strategies are actually used in the implementation of eHealth interventions for patients with chronic illness and which ones are the most effective is unclear. This systematic realist review aimed to summarize evidence from empirical studies regarding (1) which implementation strategies are used when implementing eHealth interventions for patients with chronic illnesses living at home, (2) implementation outcomes, and (3) the relationship between implementation strategies, implementation outcomes, and degree of implementation success. A systematic literature search was performed in the electronic databases MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Scopus, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Cochrane Library. Studies were included if they described implementation strategies used to support the integration of eHealth interventions into practice. Implementation strategies were categorized according to 9 categories defined by the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change project: (1) engage consumers, (2) use evaluative and iterative strategies, (3) change infrastructure, (4) adapt and tailor to the context, (5) develop stakeholder interrelationships, (6) use financial strategies, (7) support clinicians, (8) provide interactive assistance, and (9) train and educate stakeholders. Implementation outcomes were extracted according to the implementation outcome framework by Proctor and colleagues: (1) acceptability, (2) adoption, (3) appropriateness, (4) cost, (5) feasibility, (6) fidelity, (7) penetration, and (8) sustainability. Implementation success was extracted according to the study authors’ own evaluation of implementation success in relation to the used implementation strategies. The implementation strategies management support and engagement, internal and external facilitation, training, and audit and feedback were directly related to implementation success in several studies. No clear relationship was found between the number of implementation strategies used and implementation success. This is the first review examining implementation strategies, implementation outcomes, and implementation success of studies reporting the implementation of eHealth programs for patients with chronic illnesses living at home. The review indicates that internal and external facilitation, audit and feedback, management support, and training of clinicians are of importance for eHealth implementation. The review also points to the lack of eHealth studies that report implementation strategies in a comprehensive way and highlights the need to design robust studies focusing on implementation strategies in the future. PROSPERO CRD42018085539; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=85539