PP424 Piloting A Comprehensive Search For eHealth Definitions In The Grey Literature: Preliminary Results From A Systematic Scoping Review

Abstract

IntroductionThe use of information technology within health systems has emerged over the years and the current pandemic has further catalyzed this development. As a result, various definitions of eHealth have emerged. Our objective was to provide an overview of definitions available on the internet to complement the traditional (“white”) literature search.MethodsWe adapted methodological guidelines from the Cochrane Handbook and management sciences to mirror the search in bibliographic databases. A comprehensive Google search was performed in July 2020 to retrieve uniform resource locators (URL's) of webpages containing terms for eHealth within four words of synonyms for the word “definition”. The DataScraper extension of the Google Chrome browser was used to collect all URL's. Webpages were eligible if they contained an original or adopted English-language definition of eHealth or contained a direct link to a definition or a document containing a definition. All document types were eligible. The analysis was performed 7 months after the data collection.ResultsOut of the 270 unique URL's, 37 (13.7%) were no longer accessible and 51 (18.9%) were links to academic publications (“white” literature). The language was not English for five webpages (1.9%) and 113 (41.9%) did not contain a definition of eHealth or other related terms. Other related terms were defined in 29 webpages (10.7%), among which “electronic health record” occurred most frequently (18/29, 62.1%). eHealth was defined in 35 (13.0%) webpages, out of which 45.7 percent (16/35) cited an existing source and 54.3 percent (19/35) provided an original definition.ConclusionsThe digital era raises both challenges and opportunities in conducting a grey literature search. We found that an augmented Google-based search can identify valuable references that traditional literature searches cannot detect. Term definitions (and their context) found in the grey versus bibliographic databases will be compared to assess their alignment with health economists perspectives.

Digital Biomarker–Based Studies: Scoping Review of Systematic Reviews

“…It concluded that the cost-effectiveness of the wearable cardioverter defibrillator was highly dependent on the daily cost of the device in China [81]. Another study that examined the cost-effectiveness of portable devices for stroke diagnosis found no evidence of the cost-effectiveness under consideration for stroke diagnosis [82]. Another question that might arise from our results is the clinical effectiveness as well…”

“…It concluded that the cost-effectiveness of the wearable cardioverter defibrillator was highly dependent on the daily cost of the device in China [ 81 ]. Another study that examined the cost-effectiveness of portable devices for stroke diagnosis found no evidence of the cost-effectiveness under consideration for stroke diagnosis [ 82 ]. Another question that might arise from our results is the clinical effectiveness as well as cost-effectiveness of different digital devices; for example, portable devices (tablet computers) and wearables (Jawbone UP24) were used to measure physical activity [ 56 ], or implantable cardiac monitors and portable devices (Holter electrocardiogram) were applied to record cardiac parameters [ 83 ].…”

“…Hence, the question regarding the development of a comprehensive and authoritative search formula with high precision and specificity has remained unanswered and is beyond the scope of this research. One of the significant challenges in digital health or biomarkers is the lack of a standard definition and mechanism for researchers to use when formulating a search syntax for reviews [ 82 ]. Standardizing definition terms is paramount to enhancing information retrieval and evidence synthesis.…”