Usability and utility of eHealth for physical activity counselling in primary health care: a scoping review

Abstract

Background Physical activity (PA) counselling is an effective approach to promote PA in primary health care (PHC). Barriers to PA counselling in PHC include time constraints, lack of knowledge and skills of providers, and systemic barriers. Using electronic health (eHealth) has the potential to promote PA. This scoping review aimed to identify usability and utility of eHealth for tailored PA counselling introduced in PHC settings. Methods A scoping review included primary research articles. The authors systematically searched six databases (Cochrane Library, CINAHL Complete, Embase, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science) from the inception of the databases. The search terms consisted of three search components: intervention (PA counselling), platform (eHealth), and setting (PHC). Additional articles were included through reference lists. The inclusion criteria were research or original articles with any study designs in adult participants. Results Of 2501 articles after duplicate removal, 2471 articles were excluded based on the title and abstract screening and full text review. A total of 30 articles were included for synthesis. The eHealth tools had a wide range of counselling domains as a stand-alone PA domain and multiple health behaviours. The included articles presented mixed findings of usability and utility of eHealth for PA counselling among patients and providers in PHC settings. Technical problems and the complexity of the programmes were highlighted as barriers to usability. The majority of articles reported effective utility, however, several articles stated unfavourable outcomes. Conclusions eHealth has the potential to support PA counselling in PHC. Facilitators and barriers to eHealth usability should be considered and adapted to particular settings and contexts. The utility of eHealth for promoting PA among patients should be based on the pragmatic basis to optimise resources.

Primary Health Care Providers’ Perspectives on Developing an eHealth Tool for Physical Activity Counselling: A Qualitative Study

“…15,16,18,23,35,36,38,[43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51] Among these studies, the outcomes of using eHealth technologies for PA counselling in PHC settings were diverse. 52 This is reflective of the different needs across the wide range of PHC settings. Accordingly, the development of a new eHealth tool requires understanding providers' perspectives on current practice, required characteristics of the tool, and challenges.…”

“…Several eHealth tools were designed and implemented for PA counselling in PHC settings in high-income countries. 52 Adoption of those eHealth tools has several considerations. Although some barriers are common among different PHC settings, the challenges are diverse.…”

Challenges of Implementing an mHealth Application for Personalized Physical Activity Counselling in Primary Health Care: A Qualitative Study

“…The use of mHealth applications for PA counselling has become more common in the past decade. 12 However, the usability and utility of this technology are inconsistent. 12 The development of more effective mHealth applications requires an understanding of context and the needs of users.…”

“…12 However, the usability and utility of this technology are inconsistent. 12 The development of more effective mHealth applications requires an understanding of context and the needs of users. 13 The adoption of new mHealth applications is influenced by various factors such as ease of use, utility, trustworthiness, and cost-effectiveness.…”

STAR Duodecim eHealth Tool to Recognize Chronic Disease Risk Factors and Change Unhealthy Lifestyle Choices Among the Long-Term Unemployed: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Validation Study

“…Goal-setting and self-regulation, rewards, user-friendliness, accessibility, and access to remote help are also mentioned as facilitating factors, while lack of resources or priority, negative support, lack of information, issues with technology, and sociodemographic barriers are listed as barriers of use. A scoping review of the usability and utility of eHealth for physical activity counseling in primary health care centers also found technical problems and the complexity of programs to be notable usability barriers to eHealth [ 30 ].…”