The potential of digital health interventions to address health system challenges in Southeast Asia: A scoping review
Objective The World Health Organization (WHO) Southeast Asian region, comprising a quarter of the global population, faces significant healthcare challenges influenced by diverse economic and social conditions. The objective of this study is to map the Digital Health Intervention (DHI) functionaliti...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Digital Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241311062 |
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| Summary: | Objective The World Health Organization (WHO) Southeast Asian region, comprising a quarter of the global population, faces significant healthcare challenges influenced by diverse economic and social conditions. The objective of this study is to map the Digital Health Intervention (DHI) functionalities across the nine axes of the healthcare system challenges (HSCs) model; we use WHO's DHIs classification framework and the Health System Challenges model. Our study findings help identify the gaps in the potential of the existing DHIs in addressing health system challenges in low- and middle-income countries. Methods Using SCOPUS, EMBASE and PUBMED databases, a scoping review was conducted to identify the existing DHIs in the Southeast Asia region and map the DHIs with the HSCs related to availability, information, utilization, quality, accountability, efficiency, equity, cost and acceptability. Results Out of 278 studies, 337 DHI functionalities were identified. A majority of the identified DHIs address challenges related to information (35.6%), availability (34.7%) and utilization, while less than 10% of the DHIs address challenges related to quality (8.9%), accountability (5%) and efficiency (3.9%) in the health system. Conclusion Most of the existing DHIs in SEA region address challenges related to availability of services and lack of information, while they fall short in addressing challenges related to quality of services, efficiency, and accountability. Acknowledging the inter-linkages across the health system challenges, this gap identification may well guide future investments and planning in DHIs. |
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| ISSN: | 2055-2076 |