Digital tools to support the maintenance of physical activity in people with long-term conditions: A scoping review
Digital tools to support the maintenance of physical activity in people with long-term conditions: A scoping review
Objective: This scoping review aimed to bring together and identify digital tools that support people with one or more long-term conditions to maintain physical activity and describe their components and theoretical underpinnings. Methods: Searches were conducted in Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Medline, EMBASE, IEEE Xplore, PsycINFO, Scopus, Google Scholar and clinical trial databases, for studies published between 2009 and 2019, across a range of long-term conditions. Screening and data extraction was undertaken by two independent reviewers and the Preferred Reporting Items for Scoping Reviews guidelines informed the review's conduct and reporting. Results: A total of 38 results were identified from 34 studies, with the majority randomised controlled trials or protocols, with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity the most common long-term conditions. Comorbidities were reported in >50% of studies but did not clearly inform intervention development. Most digital tools were web-browser-based ± wearables/trackers, telerehabilitation tools or gaming devices/components. Mobile device applications and combination short message service/activity trackers/wearables were also identified. Most interventions were supported by a facilitator, often for goal setting/feedback and/or monitoring. Physical activity maintenance outcomes were mostly reported at 9 months or 3 months post-intervention, while theoretical underpinnings were commonly social cognitive theory, the transtheoretical model and the theory of planned behaviour. Conclusions: This review mapped the literature on a wide range of digital tools and long-term conditions. It identified the increasing use of digital tools, in combination with human support, to help people with long-term conditions, to maintain physical activity, commonly for under a year post-intervention. Clear gaps were the lack of digital tools for multimorbid long-term conditions, longer-term follow-ups, understanding participant's experiences and informs future questions around effectiveness.
Internet, Physical activity maintenance, behaviour change, chronic, digital health, multimorbidity
Clarkson, Paul
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Stephenson, Aoife
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Grimmett, Chloe
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Cook, Katherine
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Clark, Carol
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Muckelt, Paul E
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O’gorman, Philip
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Saynor, Zoe
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Adams, Jo
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Stokes, Maria
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Mcdonough, Suzanne
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April 2022
Clarkson, Paul
476e6028-5270-49b8-996f-19d930e6abf6
Stephenson, Aoife
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Grimmett, Chloe
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Cook, Katherine
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Clark, Carol
34cc183a-11a8-4718-a2c5-8e684afb551b
Muckelt, Paul E
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O’gorman, Philip
24e57a39-5c73-4548-963d-0efdf43306cb
Saynor, Zoe
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Adams, Jo
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Stokes, Maria
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Mcdonough, Suzanne
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Clarkson, Paul, Stephenson, Aoife, Grimmett, Chloe, Cook, Katherine, Clark, Carol, Muckelt, Paul E, O’gorman, Philip, Saynor, Zoe, Adams, Jo, Stokes, Maria and Mcdonough, Suzanne
(2022)
Digital tools to support the maintenance of physical activity in people with long-term conditions: A scoping review.
Digital Health, 8, [205520762210897].
(doi:10.1177/20552076221089778).
Abstract
Objective: This scoping review aimed to bring together and identify digital tools that support people with one or more long-term conditions to maintain physical activity and describe their components and theoretical underpinnings. Methods: Searches were conducted in Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Medline, EMBASE, IEEE Xplore, PsycINFO, Scopus, Google Scholar and clinical trial databases, for studies published between 2009 and 2019, across a range of long-term conditions. Screening and data extraction was undertaken by two independent reviewers and the Preferred Reporting Items for Scoping Reviews guidelines informed the review's conduct and reporting. Results: A total of 38 results were identified from 34 studies, with the majority randomised controlled trials or protocols, with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity the most common long-term conditions. Comorbidities were reported in >50% of studies but did not clearly inform intervention development. Most digital tools were web-browser-based ± wearables/trackers, telerehabilitation tools or gaming devices/components. Mobile device applications and combination short message service/activity trackers/wearables were also identified. Most interventions were supported by a facilitator, often for goal setting/feedback and/or monitoring. Physical activity maintenance outcomes were mostly reported at 9 months or 3 months post-intervention, while theoretical underpinnings were commonly social cognitive theory, the transtheoretical model and the theory of planned behaviour. Conclusions: This review mapped the literature on a wide range of digital tools and long-term conditions. It identified the increasing use of digital tools, in combination with human support, to help people with long-term conditions, to maintain physical activity, commonly for under a year post-intervention. Clear gaps were the lack of digital tools for multimorbid long-term conditions, longer-term follow-ups, understanding participant's experiences and informs future questions around effectiveness.
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Digital tools to support the maintenance of physical activity in people with long-term conditions
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10.1177/20552076221089778
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Accepted/In Press date: 9 March 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 11 April 2022
Published date: April 2022
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Funding Information:
The literature searches were undertaken with the support of Vicky Fenerty (VF), an academic librarian at the University of Southampton. This report is independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research ARC Wessex. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the National Institute for Health Research or the Department of Health and Social Care.
Funding Information:
This report is independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research ARC Wessex. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the National Institute for Health Research or the Department of Health and Social Care.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
Copyright:
Copyright 2022 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Internet, Physical activity maintenance, behaviour change, chronic, digital health, multimorbidity
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 457088
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/457088
ISSN: 2055-2076
PURE UUID: 9dd42a8a-bd01-4b35-a543-b78187a05b0d
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Date deposited: 23 May 2022 17:12
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:51
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Contributors
Author:
Aoife Stephenson
Author:
Katherine Cook
Author:
Carol Clark
Author:
Philip O’gorman
Author:
Zoe Saynor
Author:
Suzanne Mcdonough
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