MHealth applications for hearing loss : a scoping review

INTRODUCTION : Mobile health (m-health) has the potential to improve access and uptake of health services globally. Noncommunicable diseases such as hearing loss have seen increasing use of m-health approaches to improve access, scalability, penetration, quality, and convenience of health services. This scoping review describes published research in m-health supported hearing health care services across the continuum of care. METHODS : A search on Scopus, MEDLINE (PubMed), and Web of Science for articles published up to July 2, 2021 was conducted. Articles in which m-health was used across a continuum of care where the primary focus was hearing health care were included. A narrative synthesis was conducted. RESULTS : One hundred forty-six articles meeting the inclusion criteria were included in data extraction. High-income countries contributed 56% of articles, upper-middle countries 32%, lower-middle countries 8%, and low-income countries 4%. Articles identified included promotion (2%), screening (39%), diagnosis (35%), treatment (10%), and support (14%) for hearing loss. m-Health applications in high-income countries were more represented in diagnosis (62% vs. 38%), treatment (67% vs. 33%), and support (82% vs. 18%) compared with low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) except for screening (64% vs. 36%). Few studies focussed on hearing health promotion across all income brackets. CONCLUSIONS : m-Health supported hearing health care services are available across a continuum of care and various world regions, although more prevalent in high-income countries. Although great potential is demonstrated, implementation evaluations are important to further validate its widespread use and potential to make services for hearing loss more accessible in LMICs.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL I: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Checklist.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL II: Characteristics of identified applications (n=146).SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL III: List of articles included in review.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL IV: Number of publications (n=146) per country in which study was conducted (n=32).SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL V: Number of publications (n=146) per mHealth solution application.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL VI: Characteristics of identified mHealth applications (n=152) across area of application and mHealth availability.The Newton Advanced Fellowship Awardhttps://home.liebertpub.com/publications/telemedicine-and-e-health/542022-12-30hj2022Speech-Language Pathology and Audiolog