Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.
J Med Internet Res. 2024 May 16;26:e53327. doi: 10.2196/53327.
The increased pervasiveness of digital health technology is producing large amounts of person-generated health data (PGHD). These data can empower people to monitor their health to promote prevention and management of disease. Women make up one of the largest groups of consumers of digital self-tracking technology.
In this scoping review, we aimed to (1) identify the different areas of women's health monitored using PGHD from connected health devices, (2) explore personal metrics collected through these technologies, and (3) synthesize facilitators of and barriers to women's adoption and use of connected health devices.
Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines for scoping reviews, we searched 5 databases for articles published between January 1, 2015, and February 29, 2020. Papers were included if they targeted women or female individuals and incorporated digital health tools that collected PGHD outside a clinical setting.
We included a total of 406 papers in this review. Articles on the use of PGHD for women steadily increased from 2015 to 2020. The health areas that the articles focused on spanned several topics, with pregnancy and the postpartum period being the most prevalent followed by cancer. Types of digital health used to collect PGHD included mobile apps, wearables, websites, the Internet of Things or smart devices, 2-way messaging, interactive voice response, and implantable devices. A thematic analysis of 41.4% (168/406) of the papers revealed 6 themes regarding facilitators of and barriers to women's use of digital health technology for collecting PGHD: (1) accessibility and connectivity, (2) design and functionality, (3) accuracy and credibility, (4) audience and adoption, (5) impact on community and health service, and (6) impact on health and behavior.
Leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, the adoption of digital health tools to address women's health concerns was on a steady rise. The prominence of tools related to pregnancy and the postpartum period reflects the strong focus on reproductive health in women's health research and highlights opportunities for digital technology development in other women's health topics. Digital health technology was most acceptable when it was relevant to the target audience, was seen as user-friendly, and considered women's personalization preferences while also ensuring accuracy of measurements and credibility of information. The integration of digital technologies into clinical care will continue to evolve, and factors such as liability and health care provider workload need to be considered. While acknowledging the diversity of individual needs, the use of PGHD can positively impact the self-care management of numerous women's health journeys. The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in increased adoption and acceptance of digital health technology. This study could serve as a baseline comparison for how this field has evolved as a result.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/26110.
数字健康技术的普及程度不断提高，产生了大量的个人健康数据（PGHD）。这些数据可以使人们能够监测自己的健康状况，从而促进疾病的预防和管理。女性是数字自我追踪技术的最大消费者群体之一。
在本次范围界定综述中，我们旨在：（1）确定通过联网健康设备监测女性健康的不同领域；（2）探索通过这些技术收集的个人指标；（3）综合女性采用和使用联网健康设备的促进因素和障碍。
根据系统评价和荟萃分析的首选报告项目（PRISMA）指南进行范围界定综述，我们检索了 5 个数据库，以获取 2015 年 1 月 1 日至 2020 年 2 月 29 日期间发表的文章。如果文章以女性或女性个体为目标，并纳入了在临床环境之外收集 PGHD 的数字健康工具，则将其纳入研究。
本综述共纳入了 406 篇论文。关于女性使用 PGHD 的文章从 2015 年到 2020 年稳步增加。文章关注的健康领域涵盖了多个主题，妊娠和产后阶段最为普遍，其次是癌症。用于收集 PGHD 的数字健康工具包括移动应用程序、可穿戴设备、网站、物联网或智能设备、双向消息传递、交互式语音响应和植入式设备。对 41.4%（168/406）的论文进行主题分析后，揭示了女性使用数字健康技术收集 PGHD 的促进因素和障碍的 6 个主题：（1）可及性和连接性；（2）设计和功能；（3）准确性和可信度；（4）受众和采用；（5）对社区和卫生服务的影响；（6）对健康和行为的影响。
在 COVID-19 大流行之前，采用数字健康工具来解决女性健康问题的趋势一直在稳步上升。与妊娠和产后阶段相关的工具的突出地位反映了女性健康研究中对生殖健康的强烈关注，并突出了数字技术在其他女性健康主题中的发展机会。当数字健康技术与目标受众相关、被视为用户友好且考虑到女性的个性化偏好时，同时确保测量的准确性和信息的可信度，它是最容易被接受的。数字技术在临床护理中的整合将继续发展，需要考虑责任和医疗保健提供者工作量等因素。虽然承认个体需求的多样性，但个人健康数据的使用可以积极影响众多女性健康之旅的自我保健管理。COVID-19 大流行促使数字健康技术的采用和接受度有所提高。本研究可以作为该领域如何演变的基线比较。
国际注册报告标识符（IRRID）：RR2-10.2196/26110。
