BACKGROUND
Myocardial Infarction (MI) and stroke are main cause of mortality and disability worldwide. mHealth technology has rapidly expanded to accommodate the long-term healthcare goals of these patients even after hospitalization. There is limited data that presents different mHealth modalities in such setting.
OBJECTIVE
This scoping review aims to identify, review, analyze, and summarize various mHealth tools in post-hospitalized stroke and MI patients.
METHODS
We applied the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) method for the review. Data extraction was carried out across four databases including CINAHIL, PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane from 2016 onwards. Our eligibility criteria included interventional study designs focusing on mHealth tools for stroke and myocardial infarction (MI) that describes the effectiveness or implementation of mHealth outcomes. Key outcomes of interest were mortality, disability, quality of life, and adverse events. Data was extracted and analyzed, and findings were summarized based on these outcomes.
RESULTS
31 out of 1100 articles were included in the scoping review. (RCTs: n= 22, 71%; pilot trials: n= 7, 23%; cohort studies: n= 2, 6%). Different mHealth tools were identified in this review including mobile applications (n= 18, 58%), SMS (n= 11, 35%); wearable smart devices (n = 7, 23%), phone calls (n= 4, 13%), and internet-based (n= 2, 6%) interventions. They mostly focused on outcomes related to physical activity (or functional status) and quality of life. Overall, mHealth improved healthcare outcomes of discharged myocardial infarcted and stroke patients with significant improvement seen with > 2 modes of mHealth tools (app, SMS, and wearable devices) used in the review.
CONCLUSIONS
Several different mHealth interventions can be used for the post-hospitalization care of MI and stroke patients. Further robust clinical trials should be conducted to expand the applicability of mHealth tools especially across low-to-middle income countries (LMICs), rural areas, and diverse users.
CLINICALTRIAL