Digital health interventions for individuals with disabilities and their impacts on health, quality of life, and social participation
Objectives: Digital health interventions offer promising avenues for enhancing health outcomes, the quality of life, and social participation among individuals with disabilities. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of these interventions on individuals with disabilities.
Methods: This study began with a comprehensive search of several electronic databases and the grey literature in hopes of selecting primary qualitative and quantitative studies that examined digital health interventions for individuals with disabilities. Our analysis categorized outcomes into health improvements, quality of life enhancements, and increased levels of social participation.
Results: Measures of the quality of life revealed enhancements in emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being, as well as reductions in pain and increases in the efficiency with which daily activities were accomplished. In terms of social participation, digital health interventions fostered stronger relationships and heightened levels of social engagement. Secondary outcomes of the study spotlighted user satisfaction and concerns with digital tool usability. However, design and user features, such as ease of use and privacy, influenced tool effectiveness. The results suggested that digital interventions, especially when paired with emerging technologies such as virtual reality and machine learning, have the potential to be engaging and effective. The research prioritized primary, empirical, and quantitative studies in setting up a solid foundation of data and ensuring minimal bias. However, the diversity of the studies reviewed made a meta-analysis challenging because the studies focused on various disabilities, interventions, and outcome measurements.
Conclusion: The nascent field of digital health would benefit from research with narrowly targeted goals, particularly research emphasizing societal participation for disabled individuals.