Does Connected Health Technology Improve Health-Related Outcomes in Rural Cardiac Populations? Systematic Review Narrative Synthesis

Abstract

Individuals living in rural areas are more likely to experience cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and have increased barriers to regular physical activity in comparison to those in urban areas. This systematic review aimed to understand the types and effects of home-based connected health technologies, used by individuals living in rural areas with CVD. The inclusion criteria included technology deployed at the participant’s home and could be an mHealth (smart device, fitness tracker or app) or telehealth intervention. Nine electronic databases were searched across the date range January 1990–June 2021. A total of 207 full texts were screened, of which five studies were included, consisting of 603 participants. Of the five studies, four used a telehealth intervention and one used a form of wearable technology. All interventions which used a form of telehealth found a reduction in overall healthcare utilisation, and one study found improvements in CVD risk factors. Acceptability of the technologies was mixed, in some studies barriers and challenges were cited. Based on the findings, there is great potential for implementing connected health technologies, but due to the low number of studies which met the inclusion criteria, further research is required within rural areas for those living with cardiovascular disease.

The Effectiveness of Community-based Cardiovascular Risk Factors Screening Program in Rural Community Shopping Mall: Health Takes Heart Study

“…The economic burden of CVD is significant in Canada because CVD costs the health sector over $22.2 billion, including $7.6 billion for direct health care costs and $14.6 billion for indirect costs resulting from lost economic productivity due to disability or death [3]. CVD creates an extra burden in rural communities due to the high prevalence rates of CVD, high rates of CVD risk factors, and the systematic barriers to accessing health services [4][5]. Additionally, the older population living in rural areas with low socioeconomic and education levels are at higher risk of developing CVD than those in urban communities [6][7].…”

Feasibility characteristics of wrist-worn fitness trackers in health status monitoring for post-COVID patients in remote and rural areas

“…Common and affordable smartwatches and fitness trackers might support remote patient monitoring (RPM) if the emergent data is high-enough quality to inform safe decision making (Iqbal et al, 2021, Kwok et al, 2021; Lu et al, 2020, Kang & Exworthy, 2022). Remote patient monitoring is particularly important for patients living in remote and rural areas where in-person care can be limited (Fraser et al, 2022; Liao et al, 2019; Canali et al, 2022).…”